A Little at a Time
by Magnum2019
Summary: Lightning McQueen is an abused five month old Thoroughbred colt. Talia is a lively thirteen year old girl. Can Talia earn the trust of this colt, or will he be a lost cause?
1. Chapter 1: Prologue

_Prologue _

**A/N: Hi everybody! So, this will be my second story I have ever published. As with any of my stories, most characters will be 'horseanized', with a few exceptions. Please no flames, but constructive criticism is welcome:) And remember, most of the characters are horses. And they age the same way had humans, but grow to maturity faster. So at the age of two they can start racing:) Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: None of the recognsiable characters belong to me, they belong to Disney.**

I stood in front of the tv, my hands shaking with anticipation. This was my favorite day of the year. Kentucky Derby day! Doc let me watch it every year, and sometimes he watched it with me, but he was someplace else right now. He wouldn't tell me where he was going, and nobody else would either.

Oh excuse my manners. I'm Talia. I have green eyes with long brown hair, and I'm really tan from being out in the Arizona sun for so long! I'm thirteen years old, and love to watch races, especially horse racing. It's been my dream to ride a racehorse since I first watched Doc run at Willies Butte. I was nine years old at that time, and Doc had just moved here.

Nobody had known his past until I had seen him run. I'd been really excited and had asked him a ton of questions, prompting him to finally show us all a clip of one of his races. He never has shown me the one where he broke down, but he's told me about it.

Anyway, when Doc had moved here, he was three and a half years old. This year he's turning six! So Mater, the resident two year old bay Quarter Horse, Sally who was a baby blue three year old Arabian filly, and I were planning him a surprise party.

And since he was gone for a few days to who knew where - Sheriff probably knew, but he doesn't tell anybody anything when Doc hasn't told them - it was the perfect time to continue planning his party.

That was currently what Mater and Sally were doing behind me. Every once in a while one of them would nudge my back with their muzzle, asking me a question about decorations or the food, which I answered.

I tensed as I saw The King and Chick rounding the fourth turn on the second to last lap. The Kentucky Derby was one of the most strenuous races for the racers, with the dirt being turned into some sort of turf that made it difficult to get good footing, and being one of the longest races there was, besides the Preakness and the Belmont Stakes. The other two races in the Triple Crown series. The King has won that four years in a row.

The Kentucky Derby was three hundred laps, and the track was two miles around. That was six hundred miles they had to run! The Kentucky Derby usually lasted three hours. By the end of the race, most racers were sweating and completely out of breath.

"Hey guys! It's the last lap!" I yelled, my eyes still locked on the screen.

I jumped up and down as Chick Hicks, the four-year-in-a-row second place Kentucky Derby 'winner' and The King, or Strip Weathers, came nose to nose in the homestretch. The King had always pulled ahead at the last minute to take the win, and he'd been on a winning streak for the past two years.

The others slowly made their way around the tv just as they rounded the third corner. It really started getting intense now! Chick was inching his way ahead of The King, but he refused to give up his spot on the rail.

From the view the television crew provided, I could only see The King starting to get a bigger lead and Chick starting to tire as they rounded the final corner. I cheered as The King got ahead of Chick by a nose, and then a shoulder and just before he crossed the finish post, he managed to get ahead by a length.

I cheered again, joined this time by a few of the other residents. I wasn't the only one that enjoyed racing here. I turned around to look at the others.

"That was epic!"

"Sure was! Chick almost got him this year didn't he?" Luigi smiled at me. He always talked about the races after, as he knew I loved it.

I grinned and agreed. Ever since my parents abandoned me as a baby, Luigi and Guido had taken care of me. Luigi had officially adopted me when I was six, and ever since then I referred to Guido as 'uncle' and Luigi as 'dad'. Sometimes I used their names, but not all the time.

As the others began talking amongst themselves, I turned my attention back to Mater and Sally, who had apparently just finished the final preparations for the party.

"Come look at this Tal!"

I skipped over to them, and looked down at their list, setting a hand on Mater's brown shoulder.

I read over the list, reading some out loud. "Banner. Cake. Ice cream. Invites. Looks perfect guys! Should we ask Flo is she could make the cake?"

His birthday was a week away, meaning minimal time to get everything ready, but I was pretty sure we could handle it. After all, we've pulled off some pretty amazing last minute birthdays before.

"Yeah! And we could ask Sheriff or Ramone to take us to a grocery store to get the ice cream!"

Mater and I agreed before running off to ask Flo about the cake, and Sally went to go find Sheriff.

Mater and I burst into the V8 cafe, causing several horses to turn their heads towards us. I grinned and rushed over to Flo, Mater right behind me.

"What do you need, hun?"

"We were wondering if you could make Doc's birthday cake this week?" I asked, grinning and giving her my best puppy dog eyes. Even though I was thirteen, I could still pull them off.

She laughed, "Of course! Got anything in mind?"

Mater and I quickly sketched out a small cake, with blue frosting and the words '_Happy Birthday Doc!' _written in cursive. Doc had taught my cursive when I was eleven, and I'd been practicing ever since.

We handed the sketch to her just as Sally came trotting into the cafe. She answered my unspoken question.

"Sheriff said he'd take us on Thursday!"

"Great!" I turned my attention back to Flo, looking under her neck as she looked over the drawing.

"I can do this. What day were you havin' the party?"

"We were thinking this coming Saturday at like, three-ish."

"I'll have it done," she smiled at me and then turned back around to look through her cupboards.

I turned back towards Mater and Sally. "Anybody know what Docs supposed to get back?"

Sheriff answered as he entered the cafe, "He's supposed to be back by tonight sometime."

I grinned, "Plenty of time to wrap his presents and hide them!" And with that, Sally, Mater and I took off out of the shop and back to my house to wrap his presents.

However, we had no idea that our lives were about to change forever.

**A/N: The Kentucky Derby is actually only for three year olds. But I decided I wanted to change that for this particular 'realm'. Hope none of you mind, but that's just how it is. Lightning, right now, is around a year old and... well you'll have to wait for the next chapter! Please review!**


	2. Chapter 1: A New Beginning

**A/N: So this is the second chapter! In this one Lightning will be brought to RS, and the beginning of - maybe - a good friendship between the town and the colt will be seen. Maybe. You'll have to read to find out:) And please no flames. Just constructive criticism. Also this story**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the recognizable characters, they belong to Disney.**

Talia looked out the window of her house as she heard a trailer pull up. _Odd, _she thought as she glanced at her clock, _It's one in the morning and we weren't supposed to get any shipments of anything today. _

She hopped out of her bed, running as quietly as she could down the hallway, trying not to wake Luigi up. She quickly slipped her sneakers on, grabbed her jacket and ran out the door, shutting it quietly.

She ran down the road towards Flo's, where she'd seen the trailer. She knew Luigi didn't like her going outside at night, but she had to know what this trailer was doing.

She slowed down as she neared the other side of the building. She peaked around the corner, looking behind the cafe. She covered her mouth as she saw Doc talking to a horse she'd never seen before.

They were talking to quiet for her to hear for a few moments, but then she heard Doc's voice as the two turned towards the trailer.

"Let's get him out of there, then. Careful not to have him make to much noise. And get him over to my clinic."

She had no idea who 'he' was, but she was staying here to find out.

The other horse carefully opened the trailer door, and set it down. From inside the trailer, Talia saw movement. A dark shadow that moved forward and backward, tossing its head.

She narrowed her eyes a bit, trying to see inside the trailer. She could only make out the shadow figure, and it looked like a horse.

It took a few minutes, but slowly, the other stallion backed the horse out of the trailer. Talia almost gasped at the sight of him.

The horse was skinny to the bone. His hip bones showed, his ribs, his neck. He was in an extremely poor conidition. She wondered why Doc had brought him here. He looked like he would drop dead at any moment.

He swayed on his legs, he held his head low, completely drained of energy or any will to live. From what Talia could tell, he was a dull red covered in dirt, and she thought he had a stocking on his foreleg, but with how dirty he was and how dark it was around them, she wasn't sure.

She jumped back when Doc looked over her way. She hoped he hadn't seen her. After a few minutes of silence, she glanced back around the corner. She saw the three horses heading towards Doc's clinic.

She carefully made her way back to Luigi's and Guido's house, tip toeing back into her room before laying back down on her bed next to the window.

She looked out her window towards Doc's clinic. She could barely see Doc's figure talking to the other stallion before walking back into his clinic, with the other stallion heading back towards his trailer. He hooked himself up and left.

She laid back down all the way and looked up at her ceiling. _What could Doc possibly do with that foal? He looks half dead already. _

As she drifted back off to sleep, she could only dream of what might happen within the next few weeks with the new foal, that looked sick beyond her wildest dreams.


	3. Chapter 3: Seeing Him

**A/N: And the third chapter! Hope you all can make sense of the previous ones, as they were just fillers. I needed something to lead up to this chapter, and even though the other two were short, they will get longer:) Please review!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any recognizable characters, they belong to Disney/Pixar. **

The next morning came quickly, and Talia was up before Luigi or Guido, which normally didn't happen. She threw her silver t-shirt on, yanked her jeans on, and raced out of the house.

She didn't bother shutting the door quietly this time. She was far to excited to get a better look at this new arrival.

She rushed down the road towards Flo's, where she saw Flo and Sheriff talking. She slowed down, and stopped next to Sheriff.

He flicked an ear in her direction, but other than that he didn't acknowlegde that she was there. She put her hand on his black and white shoulder, and waited for the two to stop talking before asking her question.

"Have you guys seen Doc anywhere?"

"Last I saw him he was at his clinic," Sheriff looked over in her direction, "Looked like he was busy with something."

She smirked. She knew exactly what he was busy with.

She took off again towards Doc's clinic, yelling her thanks to Sheriff.

She slowed down as she turned the corner facing Doc's clinic. She saw the same horse from the night before tied up to a post, with Doc no where in sight.

She stopped and looked the horse over. She nearly flinched at the sight of him. He seemed no more than seven months old. As she had seen the night before, he was all skin and bone, she saw no muscle on him, no ounce of fat. His hip bones, ribs, neck and even his _spine_ showed.

From what Doc had taught her, he had at least several minor diseases and possibly pneumonia. She didn't even know how he was still standing, from how sick he looked.

At that moment, Doc came out of the clinic. The other colt - in daylight she could tell he was a colt, and he wasn't gelded - threw his head up, eyes rolling back a bit as he threw himself sideways and backwards, trying to get away.

Talia frowned. She hadn't seen a horse react like that to anyone since... ever.

She heard Doc talking to him in that gentle, sweet voice that he used when Sally, Mater or herself got hurt or were scared. It helped calmed them down a lot. And apparently, it worked with the colt as well.

It took a few moments of rambling absolute nonsense on Doc's part, but eventually the colt stopped his anxious prancing and pricked his ears towards Doc.

She heard him say something about shots as he went back inside his clinic. He came back out with the syringe.

The colt stared at him, shifting and ears flicking, nervously blowing through his nostrils.

"It's alright Lightning, it'll help you. I promise."

The colt, apparently named Lightning, pricked his ears as Doc slowly approached him. He was tense, but he let Doc get near enough to poke the needle through his skin.

Lightning almost violently flinched away, but Doc was skilled enough to not let the needle move. When Lightning stopped moving, he quickly injected the medicine and took the needle out.

Lightning took a few steps sideways as Doc told him, "There ya go. Should help relieve some of that pain."

She watched for a few more minutes as Doc tried to rinse Lightning off, but he only kept moving sideways and thrashing. So to stop him from possibly hurting himself, he stopped.

She watched as Doc filled up a bucket with water. He looked deep in thought, and she knew the look. He was thinking of a plan to help the colt as much as he could, and she had a feeling she somehow would be involved with that. She always was.

She watched as Doc gave Lightning the bucket, and he downed the water in about a minute flat. He acted like he hadn't had water in months.

After that, Doc made him some warm bran mash of sorts. He pushed that bucket of food over to Lightning, and once again he ate it in about a minute. She saw Doc frown again as he went and got about four slices of hay for Lightning.

He filled up the bucket of water again, and let Lightning be alone. He walked back into his clinic, and Talia decided it was the best moment to leave him alone as well.

Doc seemed busy, and as much as she wanted to know more about this colt, she knew it wasn't the right time. She could always ask later, but right now she felt her own stomach growling.

She made her way back over to Flo's. As she walked into the cafe, she saw Mater and Sally at their usual table near the back. She smiled and walked over to them.

Sally was the first to see her. "Where have you been?"

She decided it was best to not say anything about Lightning for now. She sat on a stool before answering.

"I was taking a walk to see where the best spot to hide was for Doc's party."

Sally and Mater seemed to believe her. Flo soon brought over their breakfasts. Talia's was two pieces of toast with jelly and bacon. Maters and Sally's were buckets of about one scoop of grain and some added vitamins each.

As Mater and Sally talked amongst themselves, she was left to daydream about what new things would come with having Lightning around. He needed a lot of help, and it would take a lot of time to gain his trust. And if Doc wanted to have her ride him, it would take a lot more time.

She hoped that Doc had a plan. Because she had no idea how she'd handle this situation. To her, he looked far to broken down to be worth saving.

But then she remembered, Doc wouldn't pick him if he hadn't seen something in him. She was left wondering what he could do, and what he _would _do.

**A/N: Please bear with me with some of these details. Just use your imagnination on how Doc or Flo fill up the buckets. I think they use their teeth, but however you want to think that happens:) If any of you don't know what bran mash is, it's just a treat like food for horses but it also helps clear their guts out, and sometimes it's given in the winter as a warm meal. Please review! ****Also, thank you to 'Sea1714' and 'Guest' for leaving a review!! It's very encouraging :D! And these chapters will get longer as the plot develops;) Till next time!**


	4. Chapter 4 - Introductions

**A/N: And here's the fourth chapter! I'm not completely sure when I'll be updating these, if they'll be every week or every other day. Maybe comment on what I should do? **

**Disclaimer: All recongnisable characters belong to Disney/Pixar. I don't own them sadly. **

Later that day, around one in the afternoon, she saw Doc leading the colt down the road towards Flo's. She felt giddiness rise as she realized Doc might be finally introducing him to the rest of the town. That, and she took notice of his clean coat. As she had seen earlier, he was a dull red and looked like he had a star on his forehead and a stocking on his left front. However she wasn't sure, it could be just dirt or a lighter patch of fur.

As Doc and Lightning got closer, Talia realized more of the town started looking their way. Doc paid no mind to them until he and Lightning stopped outside of the Cafe.

He looked behind him at Lightning, who was nervously looking around as everyone started gathering around them. That's when Doc finally turned his attention to everyone else.

"This is Lightning McQueen. He's a rescue, and I'm glad I rescued him. He would've ended horribly if I hadn't."

_Flashback:_

Walking down the street, going back to his hotel, he heard a commotion from the allyway to his left. He stopped, pricking his ears as he looked over. He couldn't see what was going on, but he could hear squeals - pained, angry and scared squeals - and shouting. He heard a gun go off, what sounded like a thud, and instantly bolted in that direction.

He whipped around a corner in time to see a colt being brought to the ground by three older stallions. He was in mid rear when they yanked him backwards. He screamed as he tipped over, landing hard on his back before trying to scramble back up.

However, two of the three stallions held him to the ground as another moved closer to him with a gun.

"Just hold still dangit!"

The colt thrashed, struggling to break free. He looked in extremely bad shape, Doc could tell. He wasn't strong enough to get up on his own.

Doc pinned his ears, arched his neck and reared for a split second. He took off towards the stallion holding the gun, and slammed into him.

Knocking him to the ground, the gun fell out of his grip. Doc turned his attention to the other two, pinning his ears to his neck as he charged them.

They quickly moved out of his way, eyes wide. Doc turned sharply and chased the bigger of the two out of the allyway before turning back around. He saw the stallion that had been holding the gun get up and make a move for it.

He charged him, and when the other stallion heard him coming, he quickly aimed the gun at him. Doc pinned his ears and slid a bit before jumping sideways.

He heard the gun go off, but paid no mind to where it had hit. It didn't hit him, and it hadn't hit the colt. Doc once again slammed into the stallion, but he was better prepared for it this time.

The other stallion stumbled back, but fixed himself quickly, rearing to balance himself. Without thinking, Doc reared as well, striking at him. The stallion went to bite Doc's chest, but he quickly jumped sideways, whirling around and kicking at him.

The stallion threw his head up, trying to avoid the powerful kick. Doc whipped around again, rearing and shoving all his weight forward, biting at the stallions neck. He squealed before losing his footing, and falling over backwards, with Doc jumping out of the way.

The stallion stood back up, and for a moment, the two stared at each other, sizing each other up. Doc took one look at the stallion and could tell he was mostly fat, with a little bit of muscle. By the looks on the other stallions face, he could tell that Doc was all muscle, and was not to be messed with.

The stallion glared before turning around and walking away without a word. Doc watched him leave before facing the colt.

He softened his expression, pricking his ears. He didn't like the fact that he was still laying on the ground, breathing hard. And having a better chance to look at him, he really hated how he looked.

Scrawny, bony, malnourished and undernourished, probably had pneumonia and was in a lot of pain, he could tell. He could see almost every bone in his body, and he was at least five months old. He had blood dripping out of his nostrils and many other wounds covering his body. By the looks of it, someone had been trying to ride him as well.

He didn't see the point of riding a horse so young, even if he _was_ a bit on the taller side. It was just plain abuse. They could always wait another year and a half, it would be better off for everyone if they did.

He put his head down, nudging the colt. "Hey kid, get up."

He violently flinched away at his soft touch, jerking to his feet. Doc watched as he staggered forward, almost falling before fixing himself again.

He was to tired and weak to run away, and Doc knew if he could, that's what he'd be doing. It was easy to catch him, and he brought himself around the colt, guiding him in the direction of his hotel.

"Let's get you to your new home."

_End flashback_

Everyone was silent for a few minutes after Doc had finished talking. Talia was the first to speak up.

"That's... horrible."

"I know," Doc looked back at Lightning, who was sniffing at some grass behind him. Talia could see the pained look in his eyes, and for a fleeting second, thought that he may have had another reason for saving the colt, but it was gone as soon as it had come.

"Wait, so how old is he?"

"Five months."

That caused many of the older residents to pin their ears and bare their teeth.

"Five months?"

"He honestly looks more like seven."

"How does he look that bad when he's only been alive for five months!?"

"I'll have them arrested for child abuse if they ever come through here!"

"Guys! Shut up for two seconds!"

Talia's voice cut through the chatter. Everyone went silent, looking at her. She pointed to Lightning, "Can't you see he's getting nervous!"

Lightning had his head down, ears flat, eyes wide. Talia knew from experience that that was the first sign of an anxious horse.

Everyone looked at each other, but Doc just smirked. "That's exactly why I want your help, Talia."

**A/N: Cliffhanger!! Hope it isn't to bad;) Lol hope you enjoyed and please review!! It's encouraging and helps motivate me to continue!!**

** A few terms if anyone didn't know what they were. Rearing - When a horse stands on its two hind legs. Striking - when a horse uses a foreleg (or both) and basically 'hits' you. Squeal - A high pitched sound a horse makes. If you want to, look the terms up if you want to know more about them:) **


	5. Chapter 5: Patience

**A/N: And the fifth chapter!! I thinking I'm going to update every five days. How's that sound? **

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the recognizable characters, they belong to Disney/Pixar. Sadly...**

"M-my help?" She should've expected it - actually she had expected it, but hadn't at the same time.

Doc nodded. "Your the only one that could possibly gain his trust the way I want someone to."

A moment of silence as she looked back at Lightning, who continued to look around nervously. "... how'd you want me to do that?"

"You'd sit in the middle of the round pen with a bucket of grain next to you. He'll eventually come to you. When he's comfortable with that I want you to try and pet him. When he lets you we can go from there."

She stared at Lightning, and he stared back at her. He looked afraid, lonely, vulnerable. The more she looked at him, the more she pitied him. The more she wanted to help him.

With a new determination in her eyes, she looked at Doc. "I'll help. When can we start?"

"Right now."

After a few minutes of walking, Talia opened the arena gate and sat down in the middle. She waited for Doc to bring Lightning and the grain bucket inside.

He set the bucket down next to her. She glanced inside of it, seeing a lot of grain inside. "How much grain is in there?"

"About two scoops and some supplements and vitamins he's obviously in desperate need of."

She nodded, and turned to face the colt entirely as Doc left the pen, shutting the gate behind him. He stared at her. She kept eye contact, watching him and taking in his body language.

He stood, shaking in front of her, pressed against the fence. His dull blue eyes held a fear and suppressed _anger_ that she had never seen in anyone before. He kept himself hunched up, his tail tucked between his legs like a scared dog. His ears were flat to his neck, signaling to Talia that he was afraid and slightly angry.

She knew he only felt angry because he was basically cornered. She wasn't going to lie, she'd have the same reaction to, but he wasn't supposed to feel cornered.

At this point, Talia was really beginning to understand how much trust his abusers had destroyed. Doc had once told her that if a young horse was abused, the '_trust that the abusers destroyed is gone. To earn it back, you'll need to show him he has nothing to fear, but rather have them know that he can depend on you when he's afraid_.'

She watched him as he moved away from his spot. He dropped his head, blowing dirt up off the ground. She knew that was a sign of distress. He was unsure of her and his surroundings.

He walked to the other end of the pen, his head still low. He walked with a limp that she was sure was just soreness. It wasn't anything broken or else he wouldn't be walking on it all. That was one thing that she remembered from her accident that ended with a broken leg and arm.

He suddenly turned around, pricking his dirty ears. At first, with how tense his body was, she thought he was going to charge her. She got ready to stand up and run to the fence, but he just took a little step towards her. She turned her body away from him, and didn't look at him.

She didn't hear anything for a few minutes. But then she heard soft, slow steps from behind her. Soon she heard very fast and shallow breathing, and then saw a red blur as Lightning's head dropped down, his nose going into the bucket.

She breathed a slight sigh in relief. She side eyed him. She hadn't been this close to him yet, and she took in the minor details.

He definitely had a stocking on his foreleg. That she could tell. There was a definite spot where the marking ended on his knee, and when he was this close to her she could see that his leg was white and not a dirty grey.

His coat looked a bit red, but still brown. She knew it was just all that dirt caked on him, and that it would easily be washed or brushed away.

Looking into his eyes for the first time since he'd come over, she didn't know how to react to no

the emotions in them.

Fear, pain, anger, sadness, and a hint of desperation. Desperation for what she had no idea, but she could see it all in his wide eyes. He watched her, flinching at even the slightest movement. He leaned away from her, as if ready to run if she moved towards him.

She decided to try a new tactic.

Taking a deep breath, she softly said, "Hey boy."

He stopped chewing for a moment. His ears flicked back and forth as he tensed, leaning further away from her.

"I ain't gonna hurt you pretty boy."

As she continued to utter sweet nothings to him, she saw him starting to slowly relax. He leaned back into a more comfortable position, his ears flicked forward, and she saw his entire body relax. Looking into his eyes, she saw he was still looking at her, but his eyes held a slightly calmer look to them. As if a great deal of stress has been lifted.

She continued to talk to him for a while. Just muttering things about Mater, or Doc, Sally or Lizzie. The more she talked, the more he began to relax. She knew that he wasn't going to start off like this tomorrow, that it'd take a long time and many hours until he became like this all the time around her, but she realized it would be well worth the wait.

He lifted his head as soon as he'd finished. He moved his head towards her a bit, pricking his ears. She saw him flaring his nostrils as a little bit of curiosity came into his eyes. However, he soon spooked. He made a surprisingly strong squeal as he whipped around, running away from her.

She sighed. At least she had made some progress with him.

She stood back up, and after picking up the bucket, walked towards the gate. She realized how stiff she was from sitting for so long, and she had to stretch.

She wouldn't have seen Lightning copy her movement had Doc not nodded behind her. She grinned. It was a step. If he was copying her, he must've been paying attention.

"Thanks Doc. Tomorrow again?"

He nodded once before letting her go. As soon as she was back around a building - as to not scare Lightning - she ran over to Flo's, where she met up with Mater and Sally to continue discussing Doc's birthday party.

She couldn't wait for tomorrow. And in a few days it would be Doc's surprise party.

**A/N: Not much of a cliffhanger, but it will do for now. Hope you enjoyed:)**


	6. Chapter 6: No Pressure

**A/N: So I have ultimately decided I will post every five days. That way the story won't go by to fast but it isn't to long of a wait. Hope you all enjoy this chapter! **

**Also thank you all for the comments:)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the recognizable Disney/Pixar characters. **

The next day came quickly to Talia. She jumped out of bed, glancing out her window as she got dressed. It was a beautiful morning, with a crisp orange glow coming up over the desert mountains.

She ran out the door, saying good morning to Luigi as she passed him. He looked after her, slightly confused, but shook it off and continued walking, following her out the door.

She ran all the way to Flo's, promptly sitting down next to Sheriff who was laying down in some shade. He flicked an ear towards her, but other than that he paid no mind to her.

She grinned up at him. He sighed, "I need to take you up to the store today don't I."

It was a statement, and Talia giggled as he groaned and muttered underneath his breath. "Why did I agree to do this?"

Talia jumped up as Sheriff heaved himself off the ground, shaking the dirt off. "I guess we can go now."

"Yay!"

She ran off again to find Mater and Sally. Once she'd found them, she brought them back to Sheriff and off they went.

She told Luigi where they were going as they passed him. She ran over to him, gave him a quick hug, and then ran back over to Sheriff, where he was waiting for her.

After a few minutes of walking, Sheriff asked, "Did you want a ride?"

She nodded as Sheriff stopped and laid down for her. He was way to tall - 20 hands to be exact - for her to get on without a stepping stool or something. Once she was on and balanced, he stood up, being careful not to jerk himself so she didn't fall.

Riding a horse was much easier than walking herself. Over long distances anyway. She stared at the desert area surrounding her. She hardly got to go out of town. Mater and Sally chased each other around them, keeping each other occupied. She would've rode them but they were to crazy to go for long distances. Sheriff was a much better ride.

Soon they came into another town named Flagship. Radiator Springs got most of their supplies from there. It wasn't that far away and it was easy to get to.

She jumped off Sheriff's back, landing with a low 'oof'. She walked next to him, following Mater and Sally into one of the smaller shops.

They went into the party isle, where they found plates, a banner, and some other things. They paid for it and left. Talia got back on Sheriff, and they set off back to their town.

Once they got back, Talia and Sally hid the decorations in a few of Flo's cabnets. Flo would be making the cake tomorrow, so Saturday it would be ready for Doc's birthday surprise.

As soon as that was done with, she skipped over to where Doc was waiting for her outside of the round pen. Lightning was already inside on the far end, away from them.

She took the bucket from Doc and walked to the center of the pen. She set the bucket down next to her and sat down. She faced Lightning, who stuck his head down and pricked his ears.

After about five minutes, he started to slowly walk around the pen. He didn't come towards her, but at least he started moving. He still had the limp in his leg, but she could tell he wasn't moving as stiffly as he was yesterday.

She watched him move around the pen. His cuts were beginning to heal, but Talia took note of his overgrown hooves. She made a mental note to remind Doc about that later.

After a few more minutes of him just walking around the pen, he took one step closer to her. He stopped walking and dropped his head again, gently bobbing it.

She smiled at him, "Hey buddy. Whatcha doing?"

He bobbed his head again, and took another step closer to her. She smiled, "What're you up to buddy?"

He tossed his head, lifting his head up completely. He outstretched his neck, pricking his ears and blowing through his notrsils.

"Hey pretty boy. Come here."

He took a few steps closer to her. She clicked to him a few times, lifting her hand up a bit. As soon as she lifted her hand up, he shied away, tensing. He shook himself off after a moment, outstretching his neck again.

He flared his nostrils, most likely trying to get a better scent of her. He was getting a little bit braver now, even if it was only the second day she was working with him.

At that point, Talia suddenly understood. He was _trying _to please her, trying to trust her, but he mentally _couldn't _bring himself to. But he was still trying. And that's what mattered.

"It's alright bubba. No need to be afraid of me. Come here. I got some good grain for you."

He stood still for a few minutes longer, his ears forward and his eyes on her. She knew he would likely turn out to be an incredibly hot horse when he was back to full health.

He inched his way closer to her. Slowly but surely he came to stand next to her again. He dropped his nose in the bucket. He watched her, just like he had yesterday, and slightly tense.

She began talking to him again, looking him in the eye. He flicked an ear toward her, listening. When he was almost finished eating, she lifted her hand up to try and pet him. However, he snorted and bolted sideways, pinning his ears. She frowned, watching him run to the other end of the round pen.

She looked in his bucket. _At least he finished that. _She stood up. Walking over to Doc, she placed the bucket in front of him and leaned against the fence.

"He's getting there. It's just going to take a while."

"I know. I'm surprised he came to you like he did. Usually it takes multiple days for them to do that."

Talia smiled. "He's trying, but mentally there's something holding him back." She paused, looking him in the eyes from across the pen, "Like he's been taught not to trust. I don't think that was just from abuse. I think it was something more than that."

Doc looked at her. "Like what?"

Talia frowned, lowering her eyebrows. "Like someone taught him that trust wasn't a good thing. Like someone taught him that trust would get him killed or hurt mentally. All they did was screw him up."

Doc watched her for a few more seconds before turning his head back toward Lightning. "Maybe your right. We won't know until he talks about it. And even then he might not. Nobody likes talking about a past like that."

Talia sighed, "I know. It just hurts to think that he won't trust someone cause someone told him not to. It's like he put up a mental barrier cause someone told him to."

"I know what you mean. That's why you need to work with him. So you can break down that barrier and let him live with trust for someone."

A few minutes of comfortable silence before a determined look overcame Talia's face. "I will break that barrier. No matter how long it takes, I'll show him that he has nothing to fear."

**A/N: That wraps up the sixth chapter for you! Thanks to my readers who keep me going;) I didn't know how else to end it, so I hope that'll do. **

**Words N' Stuff: Hotheaded (or in this case I just said 'hot') - A term used to describe a horses personality. If you have a hot horse, you have one that gets scared easily and likes to buck and fight you a lot. Hands - How you measure a horse. You go from the hooves to their withers, and one hand is 4 feet. So Sheriff is 20 hands so he'd be about 6.5 feet tall (I've fallen off a 15.2 hand horse and that hurts! Lol) **


	7. Chapter 7: Doc’s Birthday

**A/N: Annnndddd the seventh chapter. This is really short, just saying. I didn't have much for this one. It's pretty boring as it's just supposed to be a filler type thing. You've been warned about the boringness your about to read. **

**Disclaimer: I own none of the recognizable characters. Disney/Pixar owns those. **

Talia skipped into Flo's around noon. Today was Saturday! Doc's birthday! She jumped up onto a stool, leaning against the counter. She smiled and greeted everyone as they walked in for lunch and to prepare the surprise party.

Doc was working with Lightning for a little bit, getting him used to a halter. To Talia it seemed to soon, but she trusted Doc.

She spotted Flo behind the counter and towards the kitchen. She jumped off her stool and walked into the beautifully kept cooking area. Painted all white, with dark wood cupboards and white tile floors.

"Hey hun. Whatcha up to?"

"Nothin' much," she went over to see what she was doing. "Where's Doc's cake?"

Flo chuckled, "I put it in the refrigerator."

Talia smiled and looked behind her to make sure everyone - beside Doc - was in the café. When she saw everyone, she ran back to her table with Mater and Sally.

"Code 4 is ready to go into action!"

"On it!"

Sally ran towards the door, bolting outside and towards Doc's clinic. Talia whirled around and raced back into the kitchen while Mater and Sheriff quickly hung up the banner that read '_Happy 6th Birthday Doc!' _When they had that hung, the two of them hid along with everyone else.

A couple moments later, Talia heard Sally and Doc coming back. She ducked lower behind the counter. She listened for the door to open, and when it did she along with all the other residents, jumped out of their hiding spots and yelled "Surprise!"

Doc's eyes widened a bit as he looked, mouth opening ever so slightly as he looked around. After a moment, he looked back down and smiled at everyone. "Thanks guys. Appreciate it."

They sang happy birthday to him, Talia gave him a party hat - that he secretly enjoyed but didn't show it - and later ate the cake. Flo had made a small carrot cake with blue frosting.

After a while, everyone started going back to their respective homes. Doc stayed a bit longer, and after everyone had left he turned to Talia.

"Do you want to work with Lightning now or wait till tomorrow morning? It's dark and late."

Talia glanced at the clock. Almost nine. She hummed in thought, biting her lower lip.

_If I don't work with him I could lose process. But at the same time maybe he needs to destress... but it's only been two days! But I'm tired and he probably is to..._

"Can I do it tomorrow morning? I don't want to push it with him."

Doc softly smiled and nodded, "Kid looked tired earlier. Don't know why, though. Could be having nightmares."

Talia frowned, her eyebrows lowering. "Could he be uncomfortable where he is? Could he be having nightmares about his previous owners? Could he be stressed out?"

"He's probably stressed out. New place and all that. New faces. Probably has his head spinning trying to figure it all out. But I wouldn't put it past him to be having nightmares, either. I'll keep an eye on him."

Talia nodded. She looked down, her shoulders sagging a bit. "I wish there was something I could do to get him more comfortable. I wish he would just understand that nobody is going to hurt him."

Doc frowned a bit, tilting his head, "I know. It's hard. But you can't exactly blame him. He wasn't raised like you or me. He was probably raised with beatings and lack of food and water."

Talia looked up, making eye contact with Doc. "When will he let himself trust us? You can tell he wants to, as I said yesterday, but... he's not letting himself."

"Talia. It takes a long time for someone who's been abused to come out of their shell. Especially for someone who's been abused their entire lives. He probably doesn't know what love is. It will take a while for him to let you touch him. It will take a while for him to understand he's allowed to play and let himself go. He hasn't exactly shown any signs of being playful or friendly. Only scared and angry."

Talia sighed, looking down again. "I know. I just wish there was a way for him to do all that sooner, rather than letting him live in fear like he is."

"I know. It's difficult. But a little TLC will go a long ways in his eyes." He gave her a small smile, and then began to walk forward, ending the conversation. "Let's get you home shall we? You can work with him in the morning. Think you'll be up by seven?"

"Of course! I'm always up when Sarge and Fillmore's alarms start blaring!" She giggled, skipping forward.

As she walked down the road back to her house, she thought about how long it might take to get Lightning to finally start to trust her. She wondered if he'd ever trust her enough for him to let her on his back. She dreamed of jumping over huge oxers with him, running through a pond and swimming in the ocean.

She fell asleep quickly, exhausted from the days partying. She couldn't wait for the morning.

**A/N: This chapter is so cringe worthy. I hate it...Hopefully the next one will be a little _less _cringy. **

**Word: Halter - pretty simple to understand if I explain it correctly. It's the thing you see over a horses face when the owner is leading them out to a pasture or somewhere. It doesn't have a bit and doesn't going over the ears (behind them but not in front of them). It's usually not leather - but special horses like Racehorses and show jumpers, Dressage horses and all those competition horses normally have them. **

**If you want me to explain specific words, feel free to ask in the comments and I will gladly explain! :D**


	8. Chapter 8: Strides

**A/N: So this is a bit of a time jump here. It's about two months in, so Lightning is now seven months old. Hope you enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I own none of the recognizable characters, they belong to Disney/Pixar. **

After continuously working with Lightning for nearly two months, Talia began noticing the differences in how he acted.

He had started following her around in the round pen, he often let Talia touch his head and neck, and most times he'd whinny to her when he saw her coming. Lightning was smart, and he knew that her presence meant he'd be getting food.

Physically, Lightning had put on some weight. Not much, but it was noticeable. You could no longer see his hip bones, and his ribs were slowly being covered up by fur and a little bit of fat.

The supplements were doing him wonders. His coat was beginning to gleam, and Talia began to see his markings and true red coat. Doc had said Lightning was progressing, health wise, far faster than he'd expected him to.

Today, Talia had plans to brush him, and then try to get him into a trot and canter. She'd seen him run, but only when he was scared. And Lightning wasn't exactly graceful when he did that.

She opened the gate to his pen and shut it behind her. He walked up to her, putting his head down and pricking his ears. Talia opened her palm and gave him a treat she had.

She scratched between his ears before walking to the middle of the pen. She gave him his food, and as he was eating she began moving towards his hindquarters.

She talked to him the entire time. He got nervous when she got to his shoulder. She paused, watching Lightning's ears. He was watching her, keeping an ear flicked back.

She kept her hand on him as she moved back towards his hindquarters. Lightning stood still for a few moments, until she reached his flank.

Keeping his head in the bucket to eat, he quickly side stepped, pinning his ears for a second. He relaxed quickly, and stopped moving.

She approached him again, clucking to him this time. He tensed up, skittering sideways again as soon as Talia put her hand against his side. Talia waited for him to settle before trying again. And again. And again.

Finally, after doing this constant 'dance' for about five minutes, Lightning stood still as she placed her hand on his flank. He shivered underneath her touch, but otherwise remained still.

"Their ya go. See I'm not going to hurt you. Good boy."

She backed away, stood still for a moment, and moved forward to put her hand on his flank. He shivered again. She repeated the movement several times until he stopped shivering under her touch.

"There ya are big guy. Good boy."

She moved down the rest of his back without him moving away. When she went around his hind legs to his other side, she was able to get back to his head without him shying away.

He turned his head towards her, looking at her. She put her hand on his soft nose, looking into his beautiful, sky blue eyes.

She frowned, her eyes softening. He kept eye contact with her, something he wouldn't have done a month ago.

"What's wrong buddy? Why don't you tell me what's wrong, hm? Why don't you trust me buddy? Hm? What's wrong?"

She didn't really expect an answer, and she didn't get one. She just watched his eyes, a hidden fear under the thin trust he had for her. He blinked at her, nickering to her. He gently bumped his muzzle against her chest, his eyes closed as he kept his muzzle against her.

She sighed, slowly petting his chin and neck. "There's nothing to fear here, buddy. You're free here, free to do what you want and when you want to do it. You talk when you want to, ok?"

He nickered again, lifting his head up and pricking his ears. She smiled at him, "can you at least trot for me?"

He bobbed his head slowly, as to not hurt her. She giggled, backing up a bit. "Go ahead. Show off big guy."

He whirled around, and moved into a swift trot. At first he had a short, choppy stride. She watched him, mentally taking notes.

_Doesn't look to smooth of a ride..._

"Stretch out a bit buddy. Don't be afraid."

He tossed his head, but without a moments hesitation he stretched his body out a bit. He moved exactly like a horse should. Smooth, graceful, and without pain. Although, one look at him and Talia knew he held something that no other horse did.

Something in the way he moved made Talia question his abilities. His legs moved in sync, almost like a trotter. His foreleg and back leg almost touched, but didn't, and all four legs came off the ground at the same time.

"That's a lot smoother," she mumbled, not really thinking about it.

She felt a small smile creeping onto her face as he did another lap with the same trot.

"Hey buddy, pick up a canter?"

With nothing but a quick, energetic bounce of his forelegs he easily moved into a canter. His stride was incredibly long for a seven month old, and she raised an eyebrow.

"If he _canters _like that, how long is his _running_ stride?"

"Are you talking to yourself?"

Doc's voice behind her made her jump and whip around. She sheepishly grinned, "I guess?"

Doc shook his head, smirking. He looked at Lightning as the colt passed them, his smooth, long, fast paced canter provoking the same look out of Doc that Talia had moments before.

"He does look like he would have a nice stride."

"Nice as in smooth or nice as in long?"

"Nice as in long. By the looks of it, he can stretch even more than that and still stay at a canter."

They watched him go by again, and Doc continued, "He's gonna be fast."

"How fast?"

"Really fast. Faster than me kinda fast."

Talia snorted, "I doubt that. You still hold records on like, nine different tracks out of the ten you raced on."

"I wouldn't put it past him to beat those records..."

Doc trailed off as Lightning passed them again. Talia looked over at him to see him tense, frowning, with his eyes slightly wide. His body language set Talia off. She could tell he was worried.

"Doc... are you ok?"

He quickly shook himself, turning his attention back to her. "Yes, I'm fine."

Before she could question it any further, Doc whipped around and trotted off, keeping his head low. Talia watched him go before turning her attention back to Lightning, who was still cantering.

"You can stop now bud."

He slid to a stop as soon as she'd said it. A bit of dust swirled up around him, and he looked over at her.

"Good boy," she walked over to him and pet his neck. She took note of how no sweat was on him, nor was he even close to breaking a sweat. He wasn't even breathing that hard, and he'd been cantering for at least five straight minutes.

She gave him a little more grain before carefully leading him back to his 'stall' in Doc's clinic. She gave him a bit of hay and then left.

She looked back towards Willy's Butte, where she had seen Doc go. She wondered what his little episode was, but brushed it off and continued over to Flo's for dinner.

**A/N: And that wraps up chapter eight! Hope you all enjoyed! :D**

**Words: Whinny - A sound a horse makes when their happy to see you. My horse often does it in the morning when I come into feed him cause, "Hey moms got food! Yay!" and when I come to let him outside in his pasture lol.**

**Trotter/pacer - a special breed of horse that has a fifth gait. Normally horses have only four - walk, trot, canter, run - but these guys have another gait called a pace. Some of them trot like normal horses and don't pace, but most of them do and it's really weird but really cool to watch. Lightning's doing that quick trot, not a pace, though.**

**Nicker - Another sound a horse makes. It's low and quiet and mostly means "Hi, good to see you," or it's kinda comforting to. Mares use it to comfort their foals. And usually the horse will move towards the person or other horse he is nickering to. **


	9. Chapter 9: Greetings

**A/N: Another time hop. Sorry for the time hops but I kinda need to get this story going. I promise there will only be like one or two more if that, so bear with me PLEASE!**

**Uia: Talia is the only human in Radiator Springs. There a lot more humans in their world. The rest of them are horses:)**

**Disclaimer: I own none of the recognizable characters. Disney/Pixar owns them. **

Lightning trotted up and down the fence line, blowing loudly through his nostrils and constantly whipping his head around in every direction. He held his head high, his nostrils flaring, carrying his tail high. Every once in a while the now ten month old colt would stop and raise his nose up, scenting the wind, and continue with his pacing.

Talia watched him, confused. _What's got him so worked up?_

"Light? What's wrong with you?"

He didn't answer. It wasn't like she expected him to answer, though. He still hasn't uttered a single word to any of them.

All she got in response was a loud snort as Lightning passed her. At that point, Doc came up to the fence, intently watching him for a few minutes. He narrowed his eyes, keeping his head up and flaring his nostrils.

After another few moments, he stood on his hind legs in a rear, and flared his nostrils, trying to find out what Lightning was smelling.

When he came back down, he looked at Talia. "I don't see or smell anything off. Nothing is around here that could be setting him off like that."

Talia hummed in thought, looking around. "Maybe he senses something we can't?"

Doc looked around, lips tightening a bit. "Smokey had said that youngsters could sense things we can't. Especially hot horses like him or Sally. Those two would be more likely to pick things up before any of us would. Their senses are on high alert twenty four seven."

Talia nodded. "Have we ever had Lightning meet Sally or Mater?"

Doc shook his head, "Think they'd get along?"

"Sally probably would. Mater I'm not sure about. He can be overbearing, plus he's another stallion. He's fine around you because you saved him, but what if he has that natural short temper and dislike for other stallions? Especially around mares?"

"Then we introduce 'em separate," and with that Doc swung his head around and yelled Mater's name.

The colt in question came cantering towards them within a few minutes. He was heavily built, with natural muscle pretty much everywhere. He was around two and a half years old now, and his baby fat was going away, so was his baby fur. He was starting to show a darker bay color with two back socks and a blaze.

Talia saw Lightning stop prancing and turn towards Mater from the other side of the pen. Talia backed up a bit, not wanting to get in the middle of anything if a fight broke out.

Not that she thought it would. If it did Mater would back off quickly, even if he was bigger and stronger than Lightning.

"Whatcha need Doc?"

"I want ya to formally meet Lightning. Just go up to the fence but be careful."

Mater nodded and happily trotted over to the edge of the pen. He stuck his nose through the bars, whinnying to him.

Lightning stood on the far end of the pen for a moment, flicking his ears back and forth. He dropped his and flung it back up again a couple times.

When he suddenly stopped moving, Talia muttered a soft "uh oh". Doc glanced over at her before both heard a loud squeal. They jerked their heads over towards Lightning and Mater.

Talia had turned just in time to see Lightning drop and outstretch his head, pinning his ears to his neck as he charged Mater. Talia thought he'd jump the fence, but at the last moment he stopped and changed direction, trotting away.

Talia stood in shock for a moment. She didn't get her bearings back in time for Lightning to charge Mater again, who'd backed away from the fence line. However, this time he'd stopped dead at the fence, and stood there, ears still pinned.

After the dust he'd kicked up settled, Mater and Lightning stared at each other. Mater looked innocently at him, ears forward and head held high. Lightning had his head low and ears pinned, teeth slightly bared.

Talia shook her head, putting both hands on her head. She ran a hand through her hair, and breathed out.

"That happened to fast."

Doc nodded once, and walked towards the two. "Lightning. Calm down. He's a friend."

Lightning kept his ears pinned for a few more seconds, but listened to Doc. He relaxed, pricking his ears and relaxing his muscles.

He stuck his muzzle through the rails, flaring his nostrils. Mater cautiously extended his neck towards him.

The two bumped muzzles once. Lightning squealed, yanking his head away before returning to his spot. Mater and Lightning spent another couple minutes near each other before Lightning squealed, striking out with a foreleg.

Mater jumped to the side, his ears flicking back. He snorted as he sidestepped a few times, looking back at Lightning.

"I think that's enough for today," Doc carefully said, watching Lightning, "Would you tell Sally to come over here please?"

Mater nodded and took off towards Flo's. Five minutes later, the three and a half year old Arabian filly trotted over to them. She held her head high and carried her tail high in that normal, Arabian prance.

She looked over at Doc, waiting for instructions. "Go over to him and see how he acts. But be careful, he charged Mater. Twice."

Sally nodded and walked over to the rail. Lightning flicked his ears back and forth, swishing his tail. She stopped about a foot away from the rail.

She tilted her head, nickering. Lightning hesitated, before nickering back. Sally tossed her head, pricking her ears and standing with forelegs together, one hind leg back. She showed more confidence then Mater had around Lightning.

Lightning stuck his head through the bars. Sally extended her head, touching muzzles. Lightning didn't pull away or squeal. He kept the contact, flaring his nostrils as the two breathed in each other's scents.

Lightning seemed calmer with her. He didn't have his ears pinned, and he definitely wasn't tense like he was with Mater. He stayed still, didn't back off or pull away.

Sally suddenly jumped back, whirling around and bucking once. Lightning snorted and turned himself away, jumping straight into the air and arching his back. Talia giggled when he landed, flinging his head around and pricking his ears.

He trotted back over to the fence line, sticking his nose through the bars again. Sally turned back around, pricking her ears.

"I think he'd be good around fillies and mares. Geldings... maybe. Stallions, not so much. Especially aggressive ones," Talia watched as Lightning nickered to her, and she stepped closer to him again.

Doc nodded. "If another stallion ends up anywhere close to him, even a even-tempered one, it's not going to end well."

Talia shifted her weight, watching Sally and Lightning interact. "Do you think he'd be fine with Sarge? Or Sheriff? Or even Ramone?"

"I don't know. They're more on the hot headed side, not so much aggressive. We can always have them meet through the fence just in case."

Talia shrugged, but jerked to face Doc. "Isn't Flo or whoever doing a cookout... campfire thing tonight?"

Doc nodded. "Sarge and Flo are."

"Is Lightning going to be ok around the fire?"

"He won't be able to see it. He'll smell it, but he'll see us. I'm sure he'll be ok."

Talia paused, looking back at Sally and Lightning, who was lipping at her forelock. Doc followed her gaze for a moment until Talia heard her and Doc's name being called.

Talia turned and walked away, sparing one last glance behind her at Lightning. Sally had left him to follow them, and he began trotting up and down the fence line again.

_What is up with him?_

*

Talia sat down next to Fillmore and Doc, smiling up at Fillmore. He was half asleep, warmed by the fire. He opened his eyes to look at her as she sat down, smiling back at her, and then closed his eyes again.

She turned to face Doc, who was staring into the fire. The darkness around him made his coat look black, but the light casted by the fire made his navy blue face and chest look somewhat teal with a slight orange tinge.

His eyes weren't focused, his eyes were narrowed, his body tense. His ears were pricked towards the fire, and Talia could see the slight worry in his eyes.

She put her hand on his shoulder, effectively knocking him out of his stare. He jerked and focused his attention on her.

"What's wrong, Doc?" Her voice was soft and gentle as she looked into his eyes, frowning.

He sighed, looking away and dropping his head, "Nothing."

Talia's shoulders dropped a bit, but she left it with that. She didn't want to push the subject any further. She knew Doc could be sensitive about things, and he'd talk about it when he wanted to.

All of a sudden, she heard Lightning begin screaming. It was nerve racking, the way his voice echoed throughout the small town. Talia jerked herself around, rushing to her feet. She wasn't the only one as she saw Sheriff and Doc quickly stand up. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Sarge heave himself up and stand behind her.

She peeked around the corner of a building just in time to see Lightning at the far end of the pen. She couldn't see what he was doing, because it was so dark and he was away from the light.

After a few seconds, she heard pounding hoofbeats, and then saw Lightning barreling towards the fence. Talia's eyes widened, and she felt like screaming. However, her throat tightened as her mouth opened, her eyes widening. She felt her heart drum faster as Lightning didn't slow down.

Before anyone could do anything, Lightning had gathered himself, tucked his forelegs to his chest and launched himself off the ground.

The fence was six feet tall. Talia held her breath as he tucked his forelegs all the way to his chest, his neck extending in front of him. His hind legs tucked nicely together, just under his belly, like a professional jumper.

All Talia could think when she saw him was '_Oh God he's gonna run away' _and '_Look at the scope on him!'_

And within two seconds, Lightning had landed without touching anything. Then he was charging straight at them.

His ears to his neck, his neck extended in a snaking position. His teeth bared, and his eyes flashing. She heard Doc yell her name, and then she felt herself being pushed out of the way.

Doc stood in front of everyone, his head raised and ears back. A very threatening look to anyone smaller than him. But Lightning didn't even spare a glance at him as he blew right past them.

Talia watched him go. A sudden sadness hit her like a punch to the face. The town remained silent for a few minutes, and then they heard Lightning's scream, and a few seconds later, heard a loud yelp.

"That sounded like a coydog!"

Talia didn't stop to think as she tried to run in Lightning's direction. Doc moved in front of her, blocking her. "No. He's got it."

Talia could only watch and wait in tense silence with the others.

After about five minutes of continuous thuds and yelps and occasional squeals from Lightning, everything went dead silent.

Talia strained her eyes to see through the darkness. She couldn't hear anymore hoofbeats, yelps, squeals, or snarls.

He came out of the darkness like a phantom. Wasn't heard or seen until he was almost directly in front of you. Talia breathed a sigh of relief, and she saw Doc relax at the sight of him. He had his head high, nostrils flaring, muscles tense as if ready for another fight.

"Lightning!" Unable to contain herself any longer, she rushed up to him, throwing her arms around his neck in a hug.

He draped his head over her back, closing his eyes.

"Why would you do that? You nearly gave me a heart attack!"

She kept her head pressed into his chest, her arms right around his neck. She heard a voice she'd never heard before, and felt Lightning's chest vibrate as she heard the words, "You protected me. It was my turn to protect you."

**A/N: Annnnndddd that's the ninth chapter!! Omg soooo proud of myself for this! 2,000 words! Longest chapter yet!! This was so fun to write to! Hope ya'll enjoyed!**

**Words N' Stuff: Scope - How much a horse tucks their legs in when they jump. **

**Snaking: A Horses head position when their herding another horse or trying to look extremely threatening to other horses as they charge them. Mostly stallions use this neck position when herding their mares. In this case, Lightning was charging two coydogs. **

**Forelock: The part of a Horses mane that is in front of their ears - falling from in between them. **


	10. Chapter 10: Confessions

**A/N: Wow, tenth chapter already? Dannnngggg**

**Disclaimer: I own none of the recognizable characters. Disney/Pixar owns them guys. **

Talia yanked away from Lightning, her eyes wide and mouth hanging open. Lightning pricked his ears, flaring his nostrils, curiously gazing at her.

"Did you just... did you talk?"

Her voice was shaky, her eyes still wide open.

He bobbed his head, but no verbal response. "I... I never protected you from anything."

He bobbed his head again, a little more aggressively this time. "Yes you did."

"From what?"

"Fear."

The simple answer sent chills down Talia's spine, making her shiver. She felt her throat tighten and tears well in her eyes, though she couldn't understand why that was happening.

She took a deep, calm breath before she shakily asked, "Fear of what?"

Lightning was silent for a few moments, his body unmoving. "Fear of my past and future. Fear of whips and chains, spurs and tight girths, to harsh bits. Fear of my abusers coming to find me. Fear of _becoming _what I feared most."

Everything went silent around them. Nobody had any idea of what to think of him, nobody had anything to say. They were all to shocked to say anything.

Finally, Talia managed to twist her mind around what just happened. "Lightning..." she trailed off as she tried to figure out a way to correctly word what she wanted to say. "I never protected you from those things."

"You did. Because you took my mind off it and taught me that I could trust you."

Talia felt a tear fall down her cheek as she walked towards Lightning again. She took his red face in her hands. He pricked his ears, watching her.

She put her forehead against his, closing her eyes. "Oh, Lightning... you good boy."

They stood there for a while, Lightning relaxing into the familiar touch and the new feeling of comfort. Talia heard him let out a soft sigh, leaning into her a bit.

"You feel good about this place?"

Lightning gently bobbed his head, pulling away from her touch and opening his eyes. "I trust you."

Talia smiled, her gaze softening a bit.

"What are you still afraid of?"

Lightning dropped his head, his muzzle brushing the ground. He avoided any eye contact, turning his head away. He didn't speak for a few minutes.

"I'm afraid of saddles and bridles."

Talia gently pat his neck, "That's ok. Everyone has fears."

"But what if you want to ride? Won't it be difficult?"

She didn't know why he was openly talking about being ridden even after his obviously bad experiences with being ridden. That, and he was way to young to have even been ridden yet. _Why would they ride such a young animal? He's only ten months old!_

Talia shook her head, "I can ride bareback and bridleless if it's better for you. But let's not think about that right now, ok? Your to young to think about that yet."

Lightning tilted his head, confusion etching his features. "But... Ron said horses were broke to ride when they were a few months old?"

Doc jumped in at that point, ears pinned. Talia glanced at Sheriff quick as he tensed up, as well as others. "Who the hell is Ron?"

Lightning took a step back, dropping his head and looking up at Doc. Talia gave him a look, _you're scaring him._

Doc took a deep breath, relaxing. "Who's Ron, kiddo?"

Lightning slowly brought his head up. "Ron was my trainer... and my main abuser."

"If you don't mind talking about it kid... what exactly did he do?"

Lightning let out a heavy sigh, looking at the ground. He obviously didn't see all eyes go on him, or he didn't mind it.

"A human. He started halter breaking me when I was just an hour old. I didn't know how to respond, and pulled away from him. I didn't exactly know how to keep my balance yet, either. So I fell backwards. He got mad that I hadn't followed him and he hit me once. When I did it again, not understanding, he hit me twice. He kept hitting me when I did something wrong. He never gave me a chance to understand what I was being asked. He treated my mother worse, and I was forced to watch her die right in front of me when I was just a month old. From beatings and lack of food and water. She never told me who my father was, just that he was a racehorse and he was really famous. I still don't know who he is. The day before she died she told me I looked a lot like him, my face and eyes and ears and stuff like that. She said I had his spirit and his temper. Anyway, once she died things got way worse for me. I was thrown around and beaten if I didn't do something correct instantly. I was hardly given any water or food if I did something wrong. When I was three months old he put a English saddle on me and attempted to break me in a hour. He jumped on me. Almost broke my back and legs. I fell to the ground, and he just whipped and spirred me endlessly. I couldn't get back up. He got off and kicked me hard in the ribs..."

He broke off, turning his head away. His voice grew shaky, "I ended up unable to get up for a few hours. My legs were... paralyzed, you could call it. I wasn't given any food or water for a few days and I grew weaker by the hour. It was hot there, to. They kept trying to break me. When I was four months old they put a seven year old on me. He was lighter but wasn't any nicer. I could carry him easily, but then they used the bridle and the bit with the spikes on it. He yanked on my mouth way harder than necessary, and didn't give me any slack. He spurred and whipped me. The night you found me was the night I'd run away. They would've taken me back and..."

Lightning choked a bit, his throat closing. He shut his eyes tight. "They would've shot me."

Talia's eyes widened and mouth dropped for the second time that night. She unconsciously put a hand to her chest, anger rising.

"Why?" Her voice cracked, but he didn't notice it.

"They said it was my last straw. That I was worthless and it was better to end me."

Everyone was quiet, looking at each other. Sally and Mater looked worriedly at each other. Sheriff, Sarge and Doc shared an angry look.

"If I ever see them in this town they'll be arrested," Sheriff murmured and Doc nodded in agreement.

Talia walked towards Lightning, wrapping her arms around his neck. "You have nothing to fear around here. I will never give up on you. I'll always give you time to understand something. I'll never hit you or spur you. Ok?"

Lightning nodded, tears streaming freely down his face. Doc moved towards him, putting his head around the top of his withers.

"I'll keep you safe, Light. We all will. We won't push you to do anything you don't want to."

Everyone nodded, a few murmuring their agreement.

Talia pulled back after a few moments of comfortable silence, smirking. "Now, mind telling me how in the world you managed to jump the fence?"

**A/N: That's a wrap for the tenth chapter! Happy late Memorial Day everyone! I was going to make a FIC for Memorial Day, but I was in a parade and did homework and didn't have to much time... only a couple more weeks of school though! **

**I'm taking 'requests' on stories I should write in the future:) Just comment on what you would like to see or Pm me and I will try and make it!**

**Words: I don't think there really is any new ones. **

**Fun Fact: Did you know when a horses companion - like another horse say their mother - dies, they go through a mourning period like humans? Story ~ Well, my grandmother had two horses before Magnum (and a lot of others but those two were the only two left). One son - Rueben, and the mother - Twist. When Twist died at age 30 my grandfather kept Twist's dead body to the back of the barn where Rueben could see her. Everyday, he'd stand by the fence near her, looking at her and screaming. A week or so later my grandmother went in to go feed Rueben like she normally did and asked if he wanted dinner. He was still out by his mom, but he came in, turned around and screamed one last time towards her. And then that was it. No more screaming. Horses have feelings to as do tons more animals. They need time to mourn. So if you have multiple animals that were really close and one dies, just let them mourn, let them know that they aren't coming back. **


	11. Chapter 11: Racer?

**A/N: Chapter 11 is here! Hope you all enjoy:D**

**Disclaimer: None of the recognizable characters belong to me. They belong to Disney/Pixar... sadly...**

_After that day, I worked with Lightning every day as often as I could. Working on building more trust. We did some liberty work, and I made him go over a plastic tarp. I always flung the tarp at him a few times until he stopped flinching and running away. Over the course of the next half a year, when he turned a year and three months, I began noticing attitude changes. His physical characteristics began to change into a leaner build, thin and muscular. Three of his ribs showed under his gleaming red coat. His sky blue eyes shown with health and curiosity. He was tall at that age, 17 and a half hands to be exact. Taller than most Thoroughbreds at his age. Doc said he would be as tall, maybe taller, than him by the time he was two. _

_I also noticed his energy level was increasing. He'd often chase Sally and Mater around - he'd gotten used to everyone, and showed no aggression towards any of them. I took note of his stride length, which was small at the time. I didn't think he'd be to fast of a racer... until that summer, I had no clue how fast he could go._

_*_

Talia watched as Lightning played tag with Sally and Mater, the three new friends enjoying the hot, sunny day. She leaned against Doc, who was laying down under the shade of Flo's cafe. She closed her eyes for a moment, relaxing and nestling further into Doc's side. She was about to fall asleep when she heard a loud squeal and thundering hoofbeats.

She jerked awake, sitting up to look around. She whipped her head around, trying to find the source of the noise. She recognized it was Lightning's voice, but she had no idea who's hoofbeats those were.

Suddenly, she saw Lightning barrel around one of the buildings on the far end of the street. He looked scared, ears pinned to his neck and eyes wide.

However, Talia wasn't paying attention to that. She only saw his stride and the way his body moved.

From what Doc had shown and told her, he was moving in the most ideal way for a racehorse. Long, powerful strides propelled by muscular hindquarters, forelegs reaching out, and neck extending full length.

She saw the dust flying up from behind him, along with chunks of dirt shooting out from underneath his black hooves.

Talia watched in awe as Lightning flew by her and Doc, looking at the pure speed and strength this horse exhibited.

She got up, dusting off her jeans. She turned to Doc, absolutely awestruck.

"That... was... _fast_."

Doc nodded, still watching the dust left in Lightning's wake. "He's a racer."

"What? I thought you said -"

Doc cut her off, shaking his head. "You saw him. He has racehorse written all over him. He's bred for it."

Talia stared at him. She opened her mouth to say something, then closed it. She looked back in front of her, where the dust had just settled.

Her eyebrows narrowed, "Did anyone see where he went?"

Everyone shook their heads, staring after the young colt like Talia and Doc had.

She turned to Doc again. "So... are we gonna wait till he's two to start training him?"

Doc looked down at her. "No. We'll start now. I don't know how fast he breaks, and I don't know how fast he gets going. If he needs work on those, we need to work on them. Sally, Mater, did either of you see how fast he took off?"

Sally nodded, "He just leaned back and jumped forward. He was quicker than you or me."

Mater agreed, "Yeah! He got scared of da tumbleweed n' bolted!"

Doc snorted and Talia laughed. "Sounds like Lightning!" Talia looked at Doc again, "So how are we gonna train him to break? Like... we don't have a gate."

Doc smirked. "That's easy. A rope, a bell, and two poles. How Smokey used to train me."

"And the acceleration speed?"

"Comes with time. The more he practices breaking, the faster he'll get goin'. That, and he'll need a racing buddy eventually."

"Mater and Sally could probably keep up with him for now," Talia nodded at the two young horses, "And if he gets faster than what he just was, you can always race with him."

"Yeah." Doc developed a far away look in his eyes, looking back at where Lightning had dissapeared. "We can start today, but gotta find him first."

*

Lightning did eventually come back. At around dinner time at 5, covered in wet and half dried mud. Talia laughed when she saw him. His red coat was no longer visible, completely covered with dark brown and sticky mud

Talia spent about two hours washing him, trying to get all the mud off. Then she had to wait another half hour until he dried before they could start their training

Doc and Sheriff created a pulley system for the rope, tying the two ends to different beams or posts on opposite sides of the dirt road. Talia lined Lightning up in the middle of the rope, steadying him before giving him instructions.

"When the rope goes up, take off as fast as you can. K?"

Lightning nodded, flicking his ears. Talia moved out of the way and gave Doc and Sheriff a thumbs up. They pulled the rope and it jerked up. Lightning hesitated a split second before jumping forward, rushing down the road and leaving a trail of dust behind him.

Doc shook his head, "Gonna need a lot more work with that. Other racers would already be off and running by the time he started."

Talia nodded. He had a very slow start and more-or-less bad acceleration. But with time, she knew he could be a good Racehorse.

**A/N: Wow, chapter 11 already? Well I didn't have a good idea on how this would go at first so hope this will do. **

**Words N' Stuff: Break - when a horse exits the gate or moves from a walk/halt to a canter/run. Liberty - Kinda difficult to explain, but when a horse follows you, listens to cues, and goes bareback and listens to you without any bridle or halter, pretty much nothing one their faces to control them. There are also tricks like lay down or sit in Liberty but I won't get into that. **

**Fun Fact: Did you know horses have almost a 360 vision? Almost - they cannot see directly behind or in front of them, that is their blind area. So that's kinda one reason why Lightning got scared of the tumbleweed. He had no idea what it was! Lol. And that's why most horses spook at things directly behind them - it's a trigger point for them to run or kick. (Their flight or fight instincts kick in, and normally they flee)**


	12. Chapter 12: Competition?

**A/N: Hope ya'll liked the last chapter. Here's 12 for ya. **

**Kudo Yuichi: Luigi And Guido are both stallions, Talia (at the moment) is the only human in Radiator Springs. And thank you!**

**And everyone else who's been commenting thank you so much! It really motivates me to write the best I can :D**

**Disclaimer: None if the recognizable characters belong to me. They belong to Disney/Pixar. **

Over time, Lightning got better and better at breaking and gaining speed. And the more she worked with him, the more she took notice of all the little - or big - things.

For instance, his attitude. He was high strung, witty, confident, aggressive at moments... he was impatient, fiery, and _extremely _headstrong. Some might label him dangerous if they didn't get to know him. He was a big and powerful horse, and most could be scared of him at first glance.

Now, he weighed 850 pounds. It was light for his size - 18.4 hands - but he was thin. And no matter what Doc or Talia tried, they couldn't get him to gain anymore weight.

_Almost 2 years old... dang time has passed... need to start thinking about if we're gonna race him... speaking of that, where's Doc?_

Talia looked around, searching the town for Doc. She saw him talking to Sheriff and Sarge in front of his clinic. She looked behind her at Lightning, who was grazing contently with Sally and Mater.

She walked to the clinic, where Doc stopped talking and turned his attention to Talia when he noticed her.

"What's up kid?"

She leaned against the clinic wall, shrugging. "I was just wondering if we were gonna race Lightning this year."

Doc nodded, "Yes. Why?"

"Well are we gonna do it without a sponsor or something?"

Doc chuckled. "Got that all figured out. Next week we're going to a sponsorship race. No strain on his legs, before you ask. It's a small race... a dash basically. Before the race the sponsors looking for a horse can go around to each individual and look at conformation and such. Then they have the quick race, and the most 'recognized' sponsor gets first pick of the horses."

"Does someone have to lead him?"

Doc shook his head. "Just have to stand next to him and try to persuade the sponsors to get him."

Talia raised an eyebrow. "What exactly do they look for?"

"Weight, size, energy, how skinny they are. Some even look for calmness or aggression. I know Smokey did."

Talia paused, looking back towards Lightning. He was still grazing, but he positioned himself just in front of Sally. "What do I say?"

"Just tell them about his behavior, why you think he'd make a good racer, some of his previous owners or races if he had any. But only if they ask about his past. I wouldn't recommend talking about that." Doc and Sheriff winced, Talia cringed and Sarge rolled his eyes.

"So much work just to get into the racing circuit," he mumbled, dropping his scarred head a bit.

Talia giggled, "It's only work to those who don't think it's fun, Sarge."

He rolled his eyes, pinning his ears, annoyed. Doc chuckled, and Sheriff smirked. "Gettin' old Sarge? Is that why your annoyed?"

"You should talk."

"Hey! I'm not the one who's forty here am I?"

Sarge almost bit him, and Sheriff just reared and jumped sideways. Sheriff laughed, "I can have you arrested for harassing the police!"

Sarge stamped a hind leg, glaring in Sheriff's direction. "Try me."

Sheriff snorted, Doc rolled his eyes and smirked, and Talia laughed. Redirecting the conversation back to Lightning, she asked Doc, "So, when are we leaving?"

"June 14. I have a hauler that will take us. His names Mac, and he might just get a sponsorship with us. If the one we may get doesn't have one."

Talia nodded, and stood up. She glanced over at Lightning, "Is he gonna be ok? You know with all the other horses and possible stallions?"

Doc looked at Lightning. "He should be. We might need to get a halter or even a stallion chain. I don't know how he'll react around them."

Talia shook her head, holding her hand up. "We can't use a stallion chain. Anything forced in his mouth is a big red line."

Doc raised an eyebrow, "Really now. Why's that?"

"He's scared of bits. Anything that goes in his mouth he doesn't like."

"Well if you can't ride him with a saddle or bridle then how are you ridin' him?"

She looked him dead in the eyes, a determined glare lacing her features. "Bareback."

Doc snorted, "Good luck with that. He's hotter than any racehorse I've ever met. Your goin' get bucked off."

Talia shook her head, "Not on purpose. At least... I hope he won't," she glanced behind her at Lightning, "I really don't want to fall from that height."

Doc chuckled. "As I said, good luck."

Talia rolled her eyes, smirked, and picked up a chunk of dried mud off the ground. She looked at Doc, who was beginning to give her a glare.

"Don't you -"

She threw it at him, turned around and ran, laughing. Doc snorted, shook himself, and chased after her.

*

The 14th came quickly. Talia and Doc woke up at six in the morning to wash, feed, and groom Lightning before they had to leave. One thing Doc had forgotten to mention to her was it was a two day event - technically three if you counted actually getting there. They'd arrive on the 14th, the 15th would be the confirmation 'classes', if you could call it that, and the 16th was race day.

Talia had just finished brushing Lightning's mane and tail out when she saw a horse pulling a trailer coming into the town. She knew it was Mac, the horse that Doc had hired to drive them to the show. Which was _five _hours a way. Talia didn't know if she could sit still that long, let alone Lightning.

Doc greeted him and started a conversation as Talia put Lightning's leg wraps on. That was the only tack that he was comfortable with - and honestly, she wouldn't even call it tack. Equipment more like it.

Lightning followed her as she came up to Mac and Doc. She smiled at the big draft horse.

"Hey! My names Talia."

"Names Mac! Nice to meet you."

He smiled back at her. His voice was warm and welcoming, and he put off a welcoming vibe. Apparently Lightning thought so to, as his ears pricked towards him and he blew through his nostrils.

Lightning didn't seem tense. Instead he looked relaxed and rather curious. Mac didn't move, he just let Lightning take in his scent. Eventually, Lightning snorted and put his head down to itch his foreleg.

Doc smiled, "You work with racehorses before?"

Mac shook his head, looking back over at Doc. "No. But I've worked with trouble horses before."

Doc nodded. "What do ya say, Talia? Time to get this show on the road?"

She nodded, bouncing a bit. "Yeah! I'm excited!"

Doc chuckled, starting to walk towards the trailer. "I can tell."

She ran after Doc, and throwing his head around Lightning followed, bucking once. However, as soon as he saw the trailer door open, he squealed and reared, his ears pinning. He kept on his hind legs as he backed up, almost tipping over backwards.

Talia raised both hands, "Woah, woah, woah! Lightning! Eassyyyyy." She tried calming him down as he continued to fling himself away from the trailer. Obviously, he hadn't had any good experiences with trailers.

Once he stopped moving, Talia led him back to the open trailer door. He stopped a few feet away. Talia moved slowly up the trailer ramp, clucking to Lightning the entire time.

"It's fine buddy. Nothings going to happen to you. See? I'm fine. You'll be fine. Doc'll be in with you. He'll keep you safe."

Talia motioned for Doc to come up the ramp. He obeyed, walking calmly up into the trailer. Lightning hesitated, flaring his nostrils and standing rock solid.

Talia kissed to him, and sat down in the middle of the trailer floor. "Come on Light. Nothings gonna happen to ya."

Cautiously, Lightning moved towards the ramp. He put a careful hoof on the metal ramp, and then the other. He jumped the rest of the way up, startling a bit and almost knocking Talia over.

"Oof! Lightning be careful will ya!"

Lightning tossed his head a bit, eyes rolled back and slightly white. She stood up and gently ran her hand through his mane and down his neck.

"Hey... shhhhh... your alright." She whispered careful words to him until he was mostly calm.

She walked back down the ramp and carefully shut it. It was a plain gray trailer, with two windows for two horses. She shook her head, knowing that if Lightning kicked off his career the way she thought he would, this wouldn't be the right trailer for him. He'd need a painted one at least, with his name and face on it.

She walked to front of the trailer, opening the side of it. She jumped in, and sat down on the black couch that was built for people to have a comfortable ride in. While looking around, Talia noticed a small tv and a little stand in the corner. The tile floor clashed with the couch a bit, but she could really careless at the moment.

She focused on trying to get some rest before the eventful next few days began. When the trailer began to move as Mac set off, she heard Lightning quickly squeal and then heard Doc's soothing voice before she drifted off into a light sleep.

**A/N: I had this written out like... four days before I had to post it. Oh well... more time to think and write out the next chapter! Hope you all enjoyed this one!**

**Words N' Stuff: Stallion Chain - a Chain made for stallions that goes in their mouth and I think goes on their top gum (?) to help keep control of them. Leg Wraps - wraps that go on horses legs that help their legs keep from getting injured while riding and/or trailering. **


	13. Chapter 13: Arrival

**A/N: Anndddd rolling with the 13th chapter. I have a lot more chapters coming (maybe 11 more? 12?) So hope you all like long stories. **

**Uia: Talia is an orphan, yes. Her human parents abandoned her when she was three months and left Doc to raise her. She takes online class courses, because the nearest school is like three hours away. And the only reason why I'm not writing her schooling in this FIC is because 1 it's boring and 2 I've never taken online courses so I wouldn't know how to write that. And Doc taught her some things about first aid as well, Sheriff taught her a couple things about law and Flo taught her the caring attitude she has. **

**Disclaimer: None of the recognizable characters belong to me. They belong to Disney/Pixar. **

They arrived at the show grounds, and instantly Talia felt the butterflies in her stomach. She looked out the trailer window, barely able to see out of the glass.

Everywhere she looked she saw young Thoroughbreds being led by their human owners, a few horses talking to one another. Their were humans gathered at a booth, and Talia guessed they were signing in or something.

As soon as Mac came to a stop, she threw the door open and jumped out. She heard Lightning's squeal and the trailer beginning to shake. Sighing, she quickly walked behind the trailer and carefully opened it.

She hasn't even gotten it all the way down before Lightning began backing out. To her, it was obvious he wanted to get out and stretch. She moved out of the way so he could back out. As soon as his forelegs hit the pavement around them, he reared.

Talia backed away, letting him rear. Since Talia and Doc were used to it, they hardly paid attention to him. However, others weren't, and that's what drew their attention to him.

Heads whipped around towards them, and Talia heard the talking stop. It should've been normal to them, since they worked with the same breed in the same age group. She didn't know why Lightning rearing was such a big deal.

When Lightning came back down, she told Doc to watch him for a second so she could go sign in at the booth. She kept glancing behind her to make sure Lightning wasn't trying to sprint after her.

She waited in line for a couple minutes, keeping an eye on Lightning. She kept shifting, antsy to get their number. Once it was her turn, she quickly signed the paper, writing down her, Lightning's and Doc's name.

After getting her number - which was 18 for the competition - she went to walk back to Doc when she thought of a question.

"Are we allowed to use the racetrack?"

The woman at the table nodded, pointing to her right. "All competitors are allowed to use it from 4am to 10pm."

Talia thanked her and walked back to Doc. "Got the number."

Doc nodded. Talia glanced at Lightning as he pranced in place, throwing his head around. "We're allowed to use the racetrack. You wanna take him on there?"

Doc nodded again, "Any Racehorse being trailered for more than an hour needs to run. They can't sit still."

Talia giggled as Lightning snorted, but he followed Talia towards the course. A younger women, maybe around twenty, was standing by the gate with a clipboard. She looked up as she heard them approach.

Talia smiled, "Hi! We're here to use the track."

The woman smiled back, dark brown curls bouncing on her shoulders as she nodded. She jotted something down before looking up and half whispering, "There's some guys from the news here, so don't be surprised if you find anything about you two on Tv."

Talia nodded and thanked her, leading Lightning through the metal gate and towards the track. It was small, with already tilled dirt ready for a horse to run on.

He followed her for a ways, Doc cantering ahead of them a bit. When he picked up speed, she sent Lightning off after him. That was what they'd been doing - Doc ran ahead and eventually letting Lightning catch up to him.

Lightning took off with one, fluent movement. He sat on his haunches and propelled himself forward. Dust briefly flew in Talia's face, and she looked down to see hoofprints in the fine dirt.

She walked to the side of the track, leaning against the rail. She loved watching Lightning run. The way he ran just showed Talia that he knew he had freedom to do whatever he wanted and he wouldn't be hit nor whipped, spurred nor yanked on.

He moved so... _effortlessly. _Talia knew that was the right word. He barely looked like he was trying as he caught up to Doc, hardly hesitating to move ever so slightly in front of him.

She grinned as Lightning gained a little more of a lead. They were on the far end of the track, so she really couldn't see what was happening except who had the lead. And right now, that lead belonged to Lightning.

As they came back around towards Talia, Lightning stretched himself out, extending his neck, his forelegs. He left a small dust trail behind him as he continued to run forward.

He soon passed Doc entirely, easily flying through the backstretch. Looking around her, Talia noticed a couple of humans and horses looking at him with wide eyes.

Apparently, he was one of the fastest youngster on that track. Because more than a few other horses and humans came up to Talia, challenging Lightning to a race. Each and every one, Lightning came out on top. She really didn't understand why they couldn't wait until Sunday for the actual race, but she guessed it had something to do with wanting to know the competition.

Once Lightning had ran the track about twenty different times, Talia called him in. He trotted over to her, flaring his nostrils. She was surprised to see that he wasn't sweating. He wasn't even breathing all to hard.

"Let's get you dinner and let you get some rest."

Doc followed them as they went to their assigned stall in barn 1. Lightning held his head high, looking around the barn as soon as they entered it. They were stall number 9, so it wasn't to far of a walk.

She let Lightning in the stall, Doc following after. It was big enough for three horses, thankfully. Lightning, in cramped spaces, often freaked out if Doc or Talia wasn't there with him.

Leaving the two with two buckets of grain and some flakes of hay, she went back to their trailer. She made the couch into a bed, placing her blankets and pillow on it. She glanced at the clock.

"8 already? Well I gotta get up in the morning so I'm going to bed," she muttered to herself, pulling on her blue pajamas.

She ran back to the stable, letting Doc know she was going to bed. When she got back to the trailer, shutting the door and laying on the couch, she thought about the sponsors that she could get and what exactly laid in their future.

**A/N: Hope you all enjoyed! Please review :D**

**Words an' Stuff: I hath none this round. Woah. Advanced stuff. **

**Fun fact: Some horses actually don't like being alone. They are herd animals, so more horses equals more eyes to watch for predators like wolves or cougars. That's why Lightning likes someone else with him, he doesn't feel safe without someone he trusts with him - like Talia or Doc. **


	14. Chapter 14: New Friends?

**A/N: First off, I'm so, so sorry this is late!! I've had a severe cold and I've had regents exams the past two days. Please don't be mad!! Here's the 14th chapter for you? *hides in a corner with a stick* don't hurt me?**

**Greg 14: Possibly... I could probably do one with Dusty and a boy. From the planes side of things. Or Finn, cause his rider is Ethan. So yeah just let me know which one you'd rather me do, I guess. Probably won't be as long as this one though, lol. I've had this one in mind for a looonnnggg time. **

**Disclaimer: Sadly, I own none of the recgonizable characters. They of course belong to Disney/Pixar. **

The alarm clock went off from next to her. She threw the blanket off her and jumped off the couch. Shutting the alarm off, she quickly got changed and glanced at the clock before running outside.

_6:40. Still have time to brush Light and everything else. Make him perfect. _

She slowed before entering the barn. However, she stopped completely when she heard Doc's raised and irritated voice, then another stallions voice she didn't recognize.

"Yeah? You think you can beat my colt? He's a purebred, best of the best. We actually have his papers. Do you?"

"Yes, actually. We did extensive research with him before entering him in anything. And just so you know, my colt is better."

Walking further into the barn, she could clearly see the two stallions and Lightning. Doc had his head lowered and ears pinned, teeth bared. Lightning looked nervous, his head thrown up and ears flicking, muscles tensed. The other stallion, a blood bay with a bright white blaze down his face, held his head up, baring his teeth.

"Oh yeah? Well we'll see about that," the bay whipped his head around, "Chevy! Get over here!"

Carefully moving closer, Talia saw a tall black Thoroughbred walk up to the bay one.

The bay whipped his head back towards Doc, "See him? He looks more like a racer than your colt does. He's leaner, a bit fatter to, so he's at a healthy weight. His legs are long and sturdy looking-."

Doc cut him off, shaking his head, "Just because they look like they have sturdy legs does _not _mean they _have _sturdy legs. I've learned that from experience."

The bay snorted, looking Lightning over. "He doesn't look to strong. I guess that means he is strong."

His tone was mimicking, but Doc just chuckled lowly and raised his head, "You have no idea."

The bay looked over at Lightning for a second, who responded by arching his neck and pawing the ground. The bay grunted, turning around.

"We'll find out who's really best at the race tomorrow."

Doc snorted and watched the two leave. When they were out of sight and Lightning relaxed, Talia walked the rest of the way up to Lightning.

"Who was that?"

"Old friend of mine."

"You sure seemed like friends."

Doc raised an eyebrow. "We used to race each other. And more often than not beat him. His names Lyon, and he still hasn't gotten over all those loses. He never was a good player."

Talia nodded, deciding to grab her brushes from the trailer. "Right, so watch for him, then? Come on Light."

"Right. Chevy didn't look mean, he had that kind eye, but I wouldn't put it past them to try something dirty on Lightning or you."

Talia nodded as they followed her to the trailer. By now, everybody was awake and walking around. The area was bustling, and Lightning was alert and watching everything. He was always like that, so Talia didn't pay any mind to him.

She quickly brushed him off, making sure to get his coat gleaming. He was tall compared to her, so getting his back - and anything about his mid shoulder point - was difficult to reach. She usually used a step stool, but she hadn't brough one with her.

She ended up getting him next to the trailer so she could stand on those steps. She heard Doc chuckle and she glared at him.

"What's so funny, hm?"

"Oh, nothing."

Talia rolled her eyes, but smirked.

"Just so you know, their going to start to judging at 9. You have ten minutes to get him in that arena."

She jumped off the trailer, putting the soft brush she had back in the bin. "Just finished. Let's go buddy!"

The two turned around, and with the sudden excitement around him, Lightning swung his head around and bucked once. Talia giggled, patting his shoulder as he settled next to her.

"Now you have to behave. There are other stallions around here. Ok?"

Lightning nodded, his sky blue eyes looking at her. Cautious and concerned, but wild and smart, cunning and strong.

They got to the entrance of the arena where a guy was waiting for them. He had short black hair and was slightly overweight. He glanced up at them, "Number?"

"Uhhh... 18?"

He wrote something down on his clipboard and then gave them a paper with their number on it. Talia grabbed it and put it on the back of her shirt with tape the guy offered.

"Thanks."

He pointed to an open area to the far right of the arena, "You can go stand over there. Judging starts in two minutes."

Talia nodded and lead Lightning to where he pointed. "That was..."

"Different?" Lightning finished, glancing over his shoulder, "I didn't like the guy."

Talia sighed, "I dunno. He gave off this weird feeling."

Lightning snorted, itching his foreleg. He hummed in agreement.

A few minutes later and Talia noticed a few horses and people walk in without numbers. They spread out, walking around to people with their horses and talking to them.

Two older looking Mustang stallions caught sight of them and slowly walked up to them. The taller one was a dark bay, with a long mane and short, cut tail. The shorter was a light bay, almost buckskin but falling just short of the bright color. Both had three socks and a blaze.

"Hello! So, who's this?" The taller of the two asked, stopping in front of Lightning.

"Lightning. 1 year and 10 month old purebred Thoroughbred colt," Talia smiles at them.

They nodded, "And you'd say he's a good runner?"

Talia nodded, "And a good starter. He knows what he's doing more than anyone!"

The smaller one nodded, "Good. Well we might see you again soon," he winked and then they turned to look at other horses.

It went on like that for about two hours, some of them asking Talia to spin Lightning around for them or even have him jog in a tight circle. When it was all over, the two stallions that had come to her first came back over.

"We just want to say that we have our eyes on you two. We might not know what we're doing but we think you look good."

"Thank you!"

"My names Rusty by the way," the bigger one smiled at her, "And this is my brother, Dusty."

"Nice to meet you. I'm Talia."

They nodded and continued to walk, "Well we're going to go get some lunch, care to join us?"

Talia glanced at Lightning, who looked back at her. "I'll have to ask Doc first, I'll go find him."

Talia sprinted in the direction of the barn, where she figured Doc would be. Her intuition was correct, she found him standing by the trailer talking to someone on the phone.

"Yeah. See ya Monday, Sheriff."

He hung up and turned to look at her. "How'd it go?"

"Good! Two guys are interested in us! They invited us to lunch I figured we'd ask you first."

Doc nodded and scooped Talia up onto his back, trotting off, "Where'd you leave them at?"

She pointed to where Lightning was standing, "Over there with Light."

He picked up a slow canter, nodding to someone as they passed by. Everyone had either went back to the stables or gone home for the day to eat lunch.

Doc stopped when he reached Lightning. Rusty and Dusty smiles at him.

"Good morning. My names Rusty and this is Dusty."

Doc nodded, "Names Doc. Nice to meet you."

"So, can we go to lunch with them?" Talia leaned onto his sturdy neck, looking down at Doc.

He chuckled, "Sure. And let me guess, you gonna stay up their?"

Talia nodded and leaned back. She lightly kicked him, "Come on Doc! Let's get that racehorse energy back in you!"

Doc pins his ears and turns his head enough to glare up at her. Lightning laughs and starts trotting, "Are we getting lunch or no?"

Rusty and Dusty chuckle and follow after Lightning, Doc slowly following them.

"Go faster Doc. A snail could beat you..." Talia leaned onto his neck, "I could sleep on you."

Doc snorted and moved into a swift trot, nearly unseating Talia. "This fast enough for ya?"

Talia, wide eyed, fixed herself. "Uhuh..."

**A/N: That last bit was a bit cheesy... Idk. Again sorry for the late chapter!! The next one should be as scheduled but I can't make promises. I have other things to do. Please bear with me!**

**Words N' Stuff: There are none! Nananannanana**

**Fun fact: Did you know that some Quarter Horses are bred just for muscle? They're bred for thick muscle, some of them are purely muscle and they look scary. Some of them are ugly in my opinion. (My QH isn't bred for that. I find him to be the handsomest thing in the world. Sorrel with dapples and a hind sock makes quite the sight. I love him)**


	15. Chapter 15: Workout

**A/N: 15th chapter! Hope you all are enjoying this so far. Can we hit 30 comments by the end?**

**Greg 14: Yeah I could do that. It probably won't be as in depth as this, since I don't want Dusty to be as mentally scarred as Lightning. I might have it where Dusty is a very trusting horse and the kid learns very quickly where his line is and how far he could go with things. I also might have it where Dusty's 'caretaker' was only mentally abusive. And I might not do the Wings Around the Globe rally part of it only because that'd be a really long story. I might make a completely separate one for that. I'll see. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the recognizable characters. They belong to Disney/Pixar. **

Lunch was fun. Rusty and Dusty turned out to be two of the funniest horses Talia had ever met, and she liked them almost immidiatley. They were laid back and sweet, going as far as paying for their lunches. Even Lightning's expensive racehorse food.

After lunch they'd talk for almost two hours, Lightning feeling comfortable enough to doze off for twenty minutes. Which really said something to Talia, Lightning didn't just fall asleep in front of anybody. Only when he was around somebody he trusted.

They hung out for a little while longer, continuing to talk about racing or different events in their lives. Talia briefly explained hers and Lightning's history, how they got together and how she ended up in a town full of horses with no other humans.

When they parted ways, it was Lightning's dinner time. He was ansty to get back to his stall so he could eat, pinning his ears whenever they slowed down from their trot.

When they finally got back to their stall, Doc fed Lightning while Talia ran back to the trailer to grab Lightning's grooming supplies.

Lightning continued to eat as Talia took her time brushing him off. It was relaxing for him and Talia. She made sure to get all the dust off his coat, brush knots out of his mane and tail, and made sure his white stocking and star were clean and shining. She even brushed Doc off, getting his navy blue coat to shine a bit in the afternoon sun.

She left them for the night, heading back to their trailer. Once she got in and got changed into her pajamas, she checked the clock. It was seven pm, early for her to sleep but she knew she had to get some more rest. She had to get up at five in the morning to make sure Lightning was in tip top condition to race. She settled on the couch, set her alarm and fell asleep.

When the alarm clock buzzed the next morning, she jumped off the couch and got changed into jeans and a red T-shirt. Grabbing the grooming equipment again, she ran to the stables.

Lightning heard her coming and stuck his head through the stall window, nickering to her. She pet his nose, smiling, before opening the stall door and stepping inside to brush him. He stood still and held his feet up while she picked his hooves out.

Around six, she fed him and Doc and put the supplies back into the trailer. She cleaned it up, because they'd be going back to Radiator Springs after the race sometime and she didn't want to leave it a mess.

As soon as she was done with that, she sprinted back to the barn. She brought Lightning to the track, Doc following.

Lettting him loose to run a couple laps with Doc, she watched his performance.

_Not off on any of his legs... good. Not showing any signs of stress in his back or anything, also good. Ears aren't pinned all the way, good. _

"He's lookin' good this morning."

Talia jumped and whipped around, facing Rusty and Dusty. She giggled, "You scared me!"

They chuckled, and Dusty continued, "He looks fast."

Talia turned her attention back to Lightning as he and Doc whizzed by. "He is fast. That's not as fast as he can go, either. He tends to stay next to Doc."

"Strides long. I bet he'll blow the competition away today."

"Yeah I have no doubt about it. If you watch him, every stride he takes is at least at a hundred degree angle, and whenever all fours are in the air he covers a good ten feet. He flies."

They watched him in silence for a few more minutes. Watched him sprint across the track, tearing it up with ease.

After about five more minutes, Talia saw Doc slow down. Lighting followed his lead, pulling himself up into a slow stop. Doc looked him over, looking for any signs of straining in any part of him. Or sweat, which even Talia couldn't see any.

When they came back up to the fence, Talia looked him over as well. She couldn't see any sign of stress on his legs or sweat anywhere on him.

"Stamina. He has it."

Doc nodded. "He's incredible at keeping the pace. I wouldn't be surprised if he was a pace setter."

Lightning bobbed his head, blowing through his nostrils. Talia giggled, "Let's go back to the barn and let you rest up till the race ok?"

Doc nodded and Lightning followed him back to the barn while Talia, Rusty and Dusty followed behind them.

"I think he'll do very well in the race," Dusty stated, looking at Lightning, "He has very good conformation."

"The other judges didn't think so. They all thought he had to long legs or skinny or whatever they said and were all like 'he'll break em before he makes it'." Talia rolled her eyes, "He's a lot sturdier than they think he is."

Rusty and Dusty nodded. "Well, he'll prove them wrong in the race."

"Now how does that actually work? Like how do they all get the horses?"

"Well, during the race the sponsors do a bid on the racers. Normally it's the one in first that they all fight to bid on and usually the one with the most money gets the 'best' racehorse." Rusty told her, nodding towards the stands where the to-be sponsors would watch the race.

Talia nodded, "Do you guys have a lot of money? Like I'm not trying to be nosy or anything it's just genuine curiosity. No offense or anything."

Dusty smiled, "None taken. We don't have a ton like some of the other sponsors do, but we do have enough to get a horse to sponsor."

Rusty nodded, "Yup!"

Talia grinned, "Can't wait to see who we get. I hope we end up with you two."

"Us too. Lightning looks very promising as a racer and has the attitude as well."

Talia smiled, heading back to the barn while Rusty and Dusty went to go find good spots in the stands. "See you later guys!"

**A/N: Well how was that? Hope I'm being a little suspenseful here...**

**Words N' Stuff: Pace Setter - A racehorse that likes to keep the lead and set the pace for a race. **


	16. Chapter 16: The Race

**A/N: Wow the 16th chapttteeerrrr and I have no idea how to end this story do I...**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the recognizable characters because Disney/Pixar does. **

Talia sat in the stands meant for visitors along with the rest of the people that were there. She held her breath as she watched the racers making their way to the gates.

She spotted Doc and Lightning heading towards the gates. Lightning held his head up, picking his legs up higher than necessary. Something told Talia that he would not load into the gates easily.

Doc made Lightning stand still as the others loaded into the gates. When it was his turn to go in, he set his breaks and leaned back, throwing his head up. Doc rolled his eyes, nipping his flank.

Lightning jumped into the gates, and the doors slammed behind him, locking him in. He thrashed a bit, striking at the gates surrounding him. When everyone went still, the air around them tense, Talia waited for the bell.

The shrill sound of the bell went off as the gates opened, letting loose a bunch of racehorses. Lightning, who had never started with horses on both sides of him, startled sideways as he jumped forward.

With a bunch of horses on either side of him, Lightning fell back. He was confused, with so much going on around him that he wasn't used to or ever exposed to. He hopped on his forelegs a few times before settling at the very back of the pack.

Talia stood up, swallowing hard and grabbing the railing in front of her. She unconsciously leaned forward, biting her lip.

Lightning kept his pace at the far back. It wasn't a very long race, if he was going to win this, he had to sprint now. If he didn't, he'd be to far back to catch up with Chevy in time.

Without another thought, he began to quicken and lengthen his stride, using his hind end more to power him forward. He quickly relaxed and eased into the running, stretching out further and lowering his head. He flattened his ears, adrenaline kicking in to run and run _hard. _

Doc watched from the outside, along with Lyon.

"Guess your colts not doing so well huh Doc?"

Doc growled under his breath but chose to say nothing. Lightning was moving up, he'd prove who the best racehorse was.

Lightning was making his way towards Chevy, who was in the front ahead of the rest of the pack. Lightning set his focus on him, pricking his ears and nostrils flaring.

Slowly but steadily, he weaved his way through horses. Passing them on the inside or outside, he moved up to the front. Chevy was quite a few lengths in front of the rest of them, and the finish line was fast approaching.

Lyon laughed as he watched Chevy keep his lead as Lightning seemed to slow down. Doc frowned, murming, "Come on kid. I know you have it in you. Come on. _Run._ This is what your _built for. You have the power." _

Talia gripped the rail tighter, leaning forward and continuing to gnaw on her bottom lip. She whispered to herself, "Come on Light. You got this. You got it. You're bred and built for this. It's instinct for you... just let it kick in. Stop fighting it and let it kick in."

As if hearing their words, he took a moment to lock his eyes once again on Chevy, pricking his ears and making himself focus on Chevy and only Chevy. He drowned out the roar of the crowd, the other horses heavy breathing behind him, the hoofbeats of his oppents and everything in between. And suddenly, he felt it.

He flung his head side to side, snorted, and with another burst of energy he blew forward. He felt a fresh wave of energy rush through him as he did so, lengthening his stride again and pushing with even more force with his hindquarters. Lyon's smile slowly turned into a worried frown as Lightning continued to cover the lengths between him and Chevy.

And a few seconds later, Lightning settled right next to him. The finish line was in sight as they rounded the final corner, Lightning staying right next to Chevy on the outside. The slightly older colt couldn't shake Lightning from next to him, and he couldn't push himself any faster until the finish line. If he did, he'd run out of energy.

However, Lightning figured out in that moment that he had far more stamina than he'd thought. As the finish line came within a hundred yards of them, Lightning threw his head up and sped forward, leaving Chevy in a trail of dust.

He flew across the finish line alone, with Chevy falling back and coming in a far away second. Third was Cal Weathers and fourth was Brick Yardley. Lightning didn't hear the rest of the names.

Talia pumped her fists into the air, yelling. She got a few weird looks from orther people but she didn't mind. Doc grinned, cantering onto the track to get Lightning.

Lightning saw Doc and slowed down, throwing his head around. The adrenaline was still spiked, and he didn't want to slow. Doc cantered him around the track once more before they exited the field.

Talia rushed up to them, throwing herself at Lightning. "That was amazing!"

Before he or Doc had a chance to respond, they were surrounded by the press. Cameras clicked and flashed everywhere, startling Lightning. Talia jumped out of the way just in time as Lightning reared, striking.

The reporters backed up a couple steps, but came back at him as soon as the racehorse had come back down. But as soon as they did, his ears pinned to his head and he reared again, baring his teeth and striking. He screamed as he came back down, pawing the ground. It was a clear warning that he felt threatened.

Talia jumped in front of him, holding her hands out, "Your making him nervous! Back off. One at a time, please."

Everything was quiet for about a second before the cameras started flashing again. They didn't make another move towards Lightning which Doc and Talia appreciated. They answered some questions and then headed back to the barn to wash Lightning off - even though he didn't have any sweat on him, he was probably a little hot - and give him some food. At around five Talia and Doc would head back over to the stands to hear which sponsor had gotten who, but for now their main focus was Lightning.

**A/N: How was that? I hope it was at least a little suspenseful, because to me it wasn't. But then again I'm the author so I know what's going to happen... just let me know if I do good job I guess lol. **

**Words N' Stuff: Setting the breaks - when a horse does not want to move forward and basically just stands there. I've seen some spread their forelegs and lean back. If they don't want to go forward they no go forward. **

**Fun Fact (or just a fact for this one I guess): If you feel heat in a horses lower leg between their knee and hoof it means that something in that area is wrong. Most commonly a pulled muscle, but you might not want to work the horse or put it under any type of work related thing so the muscle can heal. If it continues to be sore or still has heat for a while, take him to the vet. **


	17. Chapter 13: The Announcement

**A/N: 17th chapter! I had this one written way before I needed to post it... oh well. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own any recognizable characters - Disney/Pixar owns them. **

As soon as they'd gotten Lightning hosed down and fed, Talia went back to the stands to wait for the announcements. At first she was the only one sitting there, but after a while more people started filling in the seats around her. Soon, most of the rows were filled up.

She waited about ten more minutes before an older man dressed in a black and white tuxedo walked in front of them and onto a wooden stand. He held a microphone in his hand with a list in his other.

Clearing his throat, he started. "Good evening folks. Hope you've all had a good experience here at Monmouth."

"I have the final results for who's going to be sponsoring who. Chevy is sponsored by-"

Talia heard someone call her name from next to her. She glanced next to her, and saw Doc standing below the stands. He motioned for her to come down.

She pushed her way through the people sitting, getting one or two nasty looks for interrupting. She jumped down and asked what he needed her for.

"Lightning's still a bit hot but I don't want him guzzling down water, else he'll get colic. Can you walk him around for about ten minutes and let him cool out?"

She nodded, "Let me know who we get!"

Doc nodded and stood by the stands, pricking his ears towards the man as Talia ran to the stables.

Lightning nickered to her as she opened the stall door. "Hey Light. Come on!"

He flung his head up and bounded out of the stall,

"_Walking."_

Lightning snorted, following after her down the stable isle. Once they exited the stable, his head whipped towards the stands, pricking his ears at the new voices. Talia clucked to get his attention back, and he followed after her again.

She took him to the track, letting him walk around wherever he felt like going. He dropped his head a few times to stick his head under the rail and nibble on some grass, which Talia laughed at.

After what she figured was ten minutes, she called him back. He instantly came to her - at a walk - and she brought him back to his stall. Once again he eyed the stands and the people, pricking his ears towards them. A few more people had gathered, Talia noticed. A couple were leaning against the stands and talking quietly to each other, glancing back and forth between the person they were talking to and the man on the stand.

By the time she got Lightning back in his stall and gave him water, the announcer had just finished.

"That's all for this year folks. Have a nice rest of your day."

She walked up to Doc, and by the grin on his face she could tell they'd gotten a good sponsor.

"So, who was it!?" Talia asked excitedly, jumping around him.

"Rusty and Dusty. Racing for Rusteze!"

Talia pumped her fists into the air, jumping once and letting out a whoop. Doc even flung his head around and bucked once, jumping up and arching his back.

They made their way back to the stables in a good mood, and Lightning picked up on it. He threw his head out the stall door, pricking his ears and tilting his head.

Grinning, Talia ran up to him and opened the stall door, "Our sponsors are Rusty and Dusty! Can you believe it?"

Lighting danced around her, flinging his head around. Doc laughed, and titled his head towards the trailer. "And guess what else? Mac got hired to be our hauler."

Lightning squealed and spun himself around as he bucked, dancing again in his own way. Talia laughed, standing still and watching him. Doc chuckled, "Now what do you say we get home?"

**A/N: Monmouth is an actual racetrack, and for horses to. It's in New Jersey! Oh and that one rhyme... that was unintended. And this is so short... Oops. And I didn't proof read this so sorry for any grammar errors!**


	18. Chapter 18: Chatter

**A/N: I am on time. It's 10:30pm on Tuesday. I am not late posting this. Only by 2 hours but hey on time is on time. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own any recognizable characters. They belong to Disney/Pixar. **

Lightning and Talia had fallen asleep on the ride home, Doc staying awake and keeping an eye on them. When they'd finally arrived back at Radiator Springs - around midnight - Doc gently nudged Lightning and Talia awake.

Drowsily, Doc led Lightning off the trailer as Talia followed.

"Can you take him back to his stall, Talia?" Doc asked, swinging his head around to look at her. She nodded, clicking to Lightning as they both slowly began to walk to Doc's clinic where Lightning was housed.

Doc turned around and went back to Mac when he was sure they'd be fine.

"Thanks for trailering us back. Are you staying here or do you have someplace else to go?"

Mac shook his head, "I don't have anywheres else to be."

Doc smiled, "Well, we'd be happy to have you stay for a night. Would you like me to find a place for you to stay?"

Mac shook his head again, "Nah. I'm fine in the trailer. Thank you though," he offered a smile, which Doc returned.

"Well, have a good night then. See ya in the morning." Doc gave him a nod, and then headed to his clinic for the night.

When morning arrived, Talia and Lightning slept in later than normal. Doc let them sleep, knowing they both had a long day yesterday. He decided to go to Flo's until they woke up.

Sheriff and Sarge were already there, and they greeted him. After a few minutes of talking about the upcoming weather and how nice it'd be to get some rain, Sheriff asked how the race went.

"Good. We got a sponsor," Doc smiled then. Sheriff and Sarge glanced at each other.

"Well who'd ya get?"

"Two nice guys named Rusty and Dusty. We're racing for Rusteze."

Sarge glanced at Mac as he walked over. "Who's that?"

Doc looked over and smirked. "That's Mac. He'll be trailering us to our races."

They introduced themselves to each other, talked a bit about their pasts and their jobs, a little about racing and a lot about Lightning. Nobody actually knew how Lightning came up, but they just rolled with it.

"Yeah, he's a good kid. High energy, but good," Doc itched his foreleg, "Takes a lot to handle him at his worst, though."

Sheriff nodded. "Remember when he first came here? Son of a-"

"Sheriff!" Doc snickered, playfully glaring at him. "He was just scared."

Sheriff bared his teeth, snorting. Sarge shook his head, "That kid gave us all a run for our money."

They all laughed lightly, Doc adding, "Yes. Especially his little attitude towards stallions."

Sheriff bobbed his head, and at that moment Flo joined them. "Any of ya want something' to eat?"

They all nodded, and Flo soon brought out their morning grain. Not to long after, Lightning and Talia joined them. Lightning was given his special racehorse food, while Talia was given bacon and some toast.

"Thanks Flo," Talia grinned, grabbing her plate and taking a bite out of her bacon.

They all ate in silence for a few minutes, one by one more of the townsfolk coming out of their respected homes to join them.

Sally and Mater stood on either side of Lightning. The trio had become fast friends, most of their days being spent on chasing each other or rolling in one mud hole or another.

"So when's his first race?"

Doc looked over at Sheriff, who had his head just above the bucket he was eating from. Everyone else turned to look at him.

"Not sure yet. Haven't talked with his sponsors much."

"What levels he at?"

"We'd start him off at grade 3. It's less stressful on his legs and better for him."

Lightning snorted, continuing to eat his grain. "I could do Grade 1."

Doc quirked a brow, "Really? Against Chick Hicks and The King? Who are strong runners? You have some muscle to build before you go up against them. Don't worry, though. You'll eventually get into the higher stakes."

Lightning lifted his head, "Into the Triple Crown circuit?"

Doc nodded, and both Talia and Lightning beamed, looking at each other.

Doc smirked, "But first, Talia has to learn to ride ya."

**A/N: Ok ok I'm sorry this is so short again! But I'm at a cow show right now and don't have time to write this out. I also didn't spell check, so please forgive any grammar or spelling errors. I have to get up in seven hours to so please forgive me. **

**Words N' Stuff: Grade Stakes: I used Grade 1 and Grade 3 races and such. But it's just the level the horses are at. If they're slower/younger horses they'll race at Grade 3. If their in between they'll race at Grade 2. If their fast and slightly older they'll race at Grade 1. I do believe most start out at Grade 3 though and some jump (or maybe Grade 2) to Grade 1 races. Grade 1 races are usually longer and more demanding than Grade 3's. And all the big time races are Grade 1 Stakes I believe. **

**Fun Fact: Horses are highly intelligent animals but need patience to train them right. If your going to trains horse, make the correct thing easy and the wrong thing difficult, because a horse will do what's easiest for him. Make it easy for him to take advantage and he will. Make it easy for him to follow your instructions and he will (hopefully). **


	19. Chapter 19: First Ride

**A/N: Sorry I'm late posting this again... I was at a cow show and it lasted all week and I was very tired and was busy with my calf. Sorry... I hope this and the oneshot makes up for it?**

**Disclaimer: None of the recognizable characters belong to me they all belong to Disney/Pixar.**

"Wait, what?" Lightning looked both nervous and confused, "Why?"

Doc chuckled, "Because some of the races require riders, that's why."

"Does it require tack? Like bridles and saddles?"

Doc shook his head and Talia sighed in relief. _He does _not _like those. That would've been bad. _

"So I have to learn to run full speed on a Thoroughbred? Bareback?"

Doc nodded, "It's going to be scary. He's big and fast."

Talia grinned. "That's my type of thing. When can we start?"

Lightning snorted and Doc said, "Tomorrow, let you both rest."

Lightning bobbed his head and Talia grinned. "Can't wait!"

The next morning came slow to both Lightning and Talia. As soon as they'd eaten their breakfasts they had went into the ring and began the training session.

It was mostly for Lightning to get used to weight on his back and for Talia to get used to him.

"Now, stand still kid for three seconds while she gets on," Doc looked up as Talia pulled the mounting block over to Lightning's side.

Lightning just looked in her direction, pricking his ears.

She dropped the stool by his side and jumped up onto him without much warning. He snorted, flinging his head up and dancing forward a few feet.

At first, Talia thought he was going to buck. Instead, he stood still, and wouldn't move. She laughed, nudging him forward, "Come on bud. Nothin's gonna happen."

Lightning shook his head, snorting.

Doc chuckled and moved next to Lightning. "Come on kid. Your legs work."

Lightning took a hesitant step forward as Doc left his side, moving forward. Talia expertly sat still, shifting only a little with his weight.

After a few more hesitant steps, he moved like he normally would at a walk. However, when Talia clicked to him, asking for a trot, he bucked.

He put his head between his forelegs and threw his hind legs up.

Talia flew over his head and landed with a grunt. _Good thing I'm wearing a helmet, _she started laughing. "Never would I have thought that I'd be bucked off of Lightning."

Doc snorted, walking up next to Lightning. "Alright, get back on. Let's try that again."

Eventually, Lightning got used to the added weight and they were cantering around the ring. To Doc, they moved as one. They learned each other quickly, Lightning figuring out what Talia was asking when she asked it and Talia figuring out how Lightning moved.

"So, How was that?" Doc asked as they came to a stop beside him.

Talia shrugged. "I didn't fall a second time so that's a plus."

Doc chuckled, nodding.

"So, Rusty, Dusty and I talked about some races last night. We were figuring enter a Grade three Stakes this weekend if your up to it Light."

"Riders?"

Doc shook his head, "All by himself."

Lightning and Talia exchanged glances as Talia jumped down. Lightning pricked his ears at her, as if waiting for a response.

"It's your decision."

Lightning looked back at Doc. "Sure. I'm up for it."

"Great. I'll let Rusty and Dusty know."

**A/N: I'm sorry it's so short... oops. It's ridiculously short. **

**Fun Fact: Each horse is very different in how their ridden. One could be smooth (easy to ride their gaits and easy to stay on) and one could be choppy (difficult to stay on). So each rider needs to get used to each horse to see what they do and their specific cues for each gait and even turning and leg cues. I've ridden seven horses in two years and let me tell you how different they all were. **

**... very different. **


	20. Chapter 20: Close Call

**A/N: Hey look at that, I'm on time today to post this. Huh. **

**Disclaimer: None of the recognizable characters belong to me. They belong to Disney/Pixar**

After talking with Rusty and Dusty, the next race was set. Lightning and Talia practiced quite often, sprinting over long and short distances. They made sure to practice in the mud after it rained to, so Lightning could get used to all types of surfaces.

The one thing Lightning got used to was a neck rope - which aided in Talia giving him cues to go whichever direction and to stop. Most times she didn't use it, but in races she would.

Since this was a one day event for them, they left early in the morning - around four am - and arrived around eight. The areas around the track were already buzzing with activity. Lightning kept his head high to watch what was going on around him and to scent things. Everything was new to him, so Talia didn't blame him for doing so.

While Doc went to go sign them in, Talia brushed Lightning until he was shining. He paid attention to everything around him, especially to other horses when they went by him.

Doc came back with a flank sticker that had the number '_95_' on it.

"This goes on him permanently. We'll have to... uh... burn it onto him."

At that, Lightning pinned his ears and lurched forward, throwing his head up. Thankfully, the wall stopped him from going to far.

"Wait... why?" Talia turned her gaze from Doc to Lightning and back again.

"It's his number. Like I was 51, he's 95. He needs to get it put on him like all the other racers need to do."

Doc looked at Talia, sympathy in his features, "I don't want to do this anymore than you guys do, but it's a new rule to have the racers number tattooed on."

Talia frowned, "He'll at least get an painkiller right?"

Doc nodded.

"Are we doing it after the race?"

"Yes. All the racers are. Their hips would be to sore for them to run properly for at least a week."

Talia nodded and continued to brush Lightning.

'_Racers to the start. All racers to the start please.'_

"That's our cue. Come on Lightning!"

Talia turned around and began to walk towards the pits where they'd be at to watch the race and help their racer.

Lightning trotted alone behind her, Doc following until they reached the entrance to the track.

"All on your own here kid. Good luck."

Lightning followed some other person to the starting gates. They waited tensely until all fifteen horses, including Lightning, were loaded in.

Once again, Lightning pulled off a magnificent stunt in the gates. Rearing and almost flipping himself over, startling several other horses. The gate operator waited for everyone to get settled again before opening the gates.

The bell rung and in a swirl of movement, the racers exploded from the gates. Once again, unused to so much action in one second, Lightning had a slow start and fell to the back of the pack.

The dirt on the track flew into his eyes, and he threw his head up, slowing down and trying to blink it out. He fell back a quite a ways, and Talia felt her heart rate jump up few beats.

She glanced up at Doc. He was tense, ears pricked and eyes set on the race in front of him.

On the track, Lightning had dropped his head a bit again and lengthened his stride, slowly moving up.

Just like last race.

Lightning's nostrils flared, his ears pinned to his head. He moved up on the outside, careful to keep an eye on where the dirt was being blown so it didn't blow into his eyes again.

Moving up enough to where there was a space between horses, Lightning moved closer to the rails. From that point, he began to weave in between horses as he continued to move up at a steady pace.

Talia was still tense as she watched Lightning make his way up to the front of the pack. He still had seven horses to pass, and only a mile left until the finish line. Which, would go by in a blur.

Lightning arched his neck, pushing his speed a bit more. He put a bit more power into his hindquarters, propelling him forward. They went around the final corner as he passed the horse that was in second.

He realized just how little time and space he had to work with to catch up and pass the first place horse. Without hesitation, he once again lengthened his stride, digging his hooves into the ground and gaining speed.

He flew across the ground, fast approaching the baby blue horse in front of him as well as the finish line. With one last burst of speed, he gained on the horse and passed him just as they ran across he finish line.

Everything was quiet. Nobody knew who'd one. It was close, and the announcer called for a photo finish.

While everyone began to slow down, Talia and Doc looked at each other. "We really need to get him used to breaking with other horses or he's not going to win the higher stakes."

Doc nodded, and with that the two waited for Lightning to come back. Talia watched the track, waiting for the announcers to announce who had won and who had lost.

It was about ten minutes after Lightning had come back when they finally announced who had won.

"_And Lightning McQueen takes the win by a nose!_"

Talia jumped in the air, giving Lightning neck rubs.

"You never fail to impress me kid," Doc smiled at him, and Lightning beamed back.

"Now come on, I believe we have a trophy to collect in the winner's circle."

**A/N: HA! Finally some words for once. I actually got 1,000 on this one. Wow. Amazing. And can anyone guess who that baby blue horse was? Wasn't The King, but he is related to him in some way... remember Cal, Bobby, and Brick are around Lightning's age...**

**Fact: SO Burning something like the number onto their hip isn't actually uncommon. It IS uncommon in racing, they get tattooed on the top of their lip. It isn't as painful as it sounds. It's like an ear piercing. However, most western horses out in the west (say Nevada) get branded. So if they get out, other people know whose horses they are and can return them. It's about as painful as an ear piercing, as I said, and it only hurts for a couple minutes. Then it's just sore. So no it's not cruelty. However if you don't have practice doing it, I recommend getting someone who knows what they're doing do it for you. Because you can hurt them more if you do it incorrectly.**


	21. Chapter 21: The Trailer

**A/N: Idk guys maybe two more chapters? One? I dunno. Won't be to many more though. **

**Disclaimer: I own none of the recognizable characters. They belong to Disney/Pixar. **

Race after race, Lightning continued to place first in each one. He got better and better with starting the more races and the more practice he had. It got to the point where he started breaking _before _the other racers did. Even in Grade Two races.

He moved with such ease, ran at a speed that could rival even the best of them. His ears would be flat against his head, only flicking up when he was thinking of making a move. His stride reached across the ground, extending over a hundred degrees. And the force of his hind legs, propelled him forward and he _flew _over at least ten feet.

Watching him, Doc knew he was ready for the Grade One Stakes races. Without letting Talia or Lightning know, as he wanted it to be a surprise, he talked to Rusty and Dusty and made arrangements to join the Triple Crown circuit.

It took a while, but they finally got into the circuit. Not much had to be done, a bit of paperwork, but it did take a while to find everything - like his birth certificate, which was a pain to track down - and write a couple of things.

Not to mention the trailer had to be painted with Lightning's face and number on it. They ended up asking Ramone to do it, who gladly excepted the challenge. And a few days later, somehow still without Talia or Lightning finding out, they had the trailer done.

The background was dark red, with Lightning standing proudly in the center. Ears pricked, nostrils flared, and eyes forward as he stood with legs apart, one foreleg off the ground. Tall and proud, like he always was. And in front of him, was a lightning bolt slashing through everything, making the darker colors pop and Lightning stand out.

"Your a very good artist," Doc said, staring at the trailer. "I'm impressed." He brought his eyes away from the trailer to Ramone, "Thank you."

"No problem man!"

Ramone collected his paints and put them away while Doc went to go find Lightning and Talia. He went to Flo's, and asked Sheriff if he'd seen Talia or Lightning at all.

"At the Butte."

Doc nodded his thanks, and trotted off. Once he got there, he saw Talia on Lightning racing around the track. As always, Lightning moved effortlessly, gracefully. His ears were pricked, saying he was at ease.

Talia was smiling, enjoying herself when she spotted Doc. She sat back the tiniest bit, and Lightning's head flew up as he sat on his haunches, sliding like a Reiner would.

"Hey Doc! What's up?" Talia called as she jumped off Lightning.

"I got a surprise for you two," he grinned, nodding behind him, "Come on!"

Glancing at each other, Lightning and Talia followed him into town. Doc took them around the back of his clinic, where Mac had pulled the trailer to.

Once they saw the trailer, they both gasped. They stared at it, Talia with a huge grin forming on her face. Lightning looked curious and stunned at the same time.

"Who did that!?" Talia moved closer to it, mouth open.

Doc chuckled. "Ramone."

Lightning tilted his head, taking in the entire view of the trailer. "It's so cool!"

Doc nodded, smiling and walking forward. "You know what that means?"

Talia whipped around, gasping again, "Grade one stakes!"

Doc nodded, grin still on his face, "Lightning, Talia, you'll be racing with the big guys now."

They looked at each other again, both grinning.

"Wait, with The King? And Chick Hicks?"

Doc bobbed his head, followed by Talia squealing and jumping up at Lightning, grabbing his neck in a hug.

"We're racing in the Triple Crown Circuit now bud!!"

Doc laughed as Lightning pranced, tossing his head. He was _the _youngest horse to join the Triple Crown Circuit. At only two and a half years old, he was bound to be the talk of the track for a while.

"Now, shall we go tell the others?"

**A/N: I _know this is short don't blame me I hate the shortness to. _Not to worry, the next one will be longer! And the next one might be the last one...**

**Fact: The Triple Crown Circuit does not exist. The Triple Crown does. Do not get those confused. The Triple Crown consists of three races - the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes. However, The Triple Crown Circuit (TCC) is something I made up. It will basically just have a bunch of difficult races.**


	22. Chapter 22: Believe in Me

**A/N: Last chapter! Wow that went by fast... I hope you all enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the recognizable characters because Disney/Pixar owns them. **

The day of Lightning's first grade one stakes race had come fast. Before Talia or Lightning had known it, they were arriving at Treasure Park. It was a smaller race, but it was still a part of the Triple Crown Circuit and could get racers the points they needed to get into the final three races that would earn them the title of 'Triple Crown Winner'.

It was the busiest track they'd been to yet. Despite being a small track, it was still busy. Unloading Lightning from the trailer, camera people were everywhere, snapping photos of them. Lightning, surprisingly, reacted well to the flashing.

He arched his neck, basically prancing down the ramp of the trailer. Questions were thrown at them from every direction, but both ignored them.

They had to focus on this race. It would be the most difficult one they had faced so far. And Lightning, well, he was only two and a half years old. Most wouldn't start racing at this level until they were five or six. Which made Lightning the youngest horse to ever compete in a grade one stakes.

He was definitely not the favorite for this race. Not even his easy victories in his last races had given people enough hope that he'd win. Many argued his luck would run out, that he'd break something if pushed to hard.

But Talia and Doc knew differently. He was made to run. Built for it, with the body to prove it. Skinny, muscled, very well put together. He was every bit a racehorse.

Talia wouldn't ride him for this race. It was an option, but she opted to not ride him. She'd just weigh him down, and she needed everyone to know he was great on his own.

The announcers - Bob and Darrel - called for the racers to go to the gates. Lightning trotted away, excited for another chance to run.

He threw his head, rearing, striking, prancing until he got to the gates. As per usual, he threw a fit in the gates as well, antsy and ready to run. Talia sat with the rest of the crowd, with Doc in the 'pits' if anything went wrong.

You could cut the tension in the air with a knife. Everyone was ready to see this race. Everyone was ready to see how Lightning faired. They all had seen him run at least once, but at least half the people and horses here had little hope that he'd stand a chance.

The bell rung, the gates opened, and the horses sprang from the start. Lightning was first out of the gates, but to Talia's dismay he began to fall back rather quickly. Even though he looked to be trying hard to keep up.

Talia bit her bottom lip, worriedly watching the racers as they went around the first turn. Three more to go with a five mile distance in between each corner. The footing was horrid, which was what made it a grade one race.

Lightning took the corner pretty wide, falling behind even more. Chunks of dirt flew into his face again, and he threw his head up.

Talia sucked in a quick breath. She knew he could win it, he's pulled off amazing feats before.

But then again, maybe this was above his capabilities. At such a young age, he could hurt himself.

Around the second turn, Lightning made no move to try and move up. The leader of the pack was inching his way further in front of anyone. If Lightning wanted to win, or even place in the top five, he needed to go. And go now.

However, he still didn't make any move to go faster. At that point, Talia really started to lose hope. He just _wasn't ready. _

Before she knew it the racers were going around the third corner. She sighed, putting her head in her hands.

"Well if this wasn't a fail," she muttered to herself, shaking her head.

"_Look at him go now! He's really moving now! Lightning McQueen, the youngest colt to ever race in a grade one race is moving up fast after a poor start."_

Talia, with eyes wide, whipped her head up. Her mouth dropped open as she saw just what the announcer was talking about.

Lightning, still on the outside of the group, was charging forward. He didn't seem to pay attention to anything but what was in front of him.

Talia couldn't see him all too well, he was at the far end of the track, but with what she could see he was moving fast. Faster than she'd ever seen him go.

She listened to Bob and Darrel, their voices carrying the excitement that she felt. Seventh, sixth, fifth... he kept moving up. And before she knew it he was in second.

As with his first ever race, the first place horse was quite a bit in front. Since they'd just turned the final corner, with the finish line only a couple hundred yards away, she didn't think Lightning could catch him.

But then again, he's surprised them all before.

Lightning began inching his way towards the horse, both of them approaching the finish line fast. Lightning's nostrils completely flared, bringing in the oxygen he needed to fly across the ground. He covered the distant relatively quickly, gaining on the stallion.

He didn't pay attention to how close of a finish it was as he passed the stallion. Didn't even slow down as he heard the motion camera go off, snapping pictures for the obvious photo finish.

He only slowed down when he had made it to the second corner again. He went from a run to a trot in a fast, yet smooth transition.

He threw his head up, nostrils flaring. He trotted the rest of the way around the track, letting his body cool down. There wasn't any sweat on him, but he still needed to cool himself down and let his breathing return to normal.

When he came back around the track, he wasn't expecting it when Talia threw herself at him.

He snorted, prancing a bit.

"You won, Lightning."

Despite all the odds, everything and everyone that was against him, he had won. He'd proven himself to them all.

**A/N: So How was that? Kinda good? And so that was the last chapter ya'll, see ya in the next story :)**


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